Logia Luffy:Rise of the Dark Emperor
by The Eternal Winter
Summary: Luffy didn't eat the Gomu Gomu no Mi and instead ate a Devil Fruit considered to be the strongest and most evil of all the Devil fruits. He will rise and conquer the Grand Line with the power of Darkness as his ally with all its power and its burdens. Rated M. Multiple pairings.
1. Romance Dawn

**Disclaimer- I don't own One Piece.**

* * *

Fuusha village was a small village that lay on Dawn Island within the Goa kingdom. It was by all accounts an average village that lay in the East blue, an ocean which is considered to be the safest and most peaceful of all the seas in the world. Life was simple here and very little ever happened. Most of the people were farmers and fishermen. There was nothing much to do except kill time at the local bar.

Recently however the village had become rather lively. For the last year a group of pirates known as the Red haired pirates have made port in the village and used it as a base for whenever they set off on voyages.

The townspeople were happy to have the pirates in town since they spent most of the money they got from their voyages on wild parties which did wonders for the usually robust village economy. The fact that their presence shattered the village's usual boredom was an added bonus.

Said group of pirates were currently unloading their ship. The ship itself was a fairly large galleon class vessel that was armed with cannons as well as numerous other armaments. The wood was a strange dark red and the ships figurehead was a fearsome red dragon. The crew members of this vessel were currently laughing at the antics of a young boy who was perched on the top of the ships figurehead.

The young boys name was Monkey D. Luffy and he was trying to convince the pirates to take him on a voyage.

"I'm going to show you all how tough I am, and then you're going to have to take me on a voyage!" He yelled while waving around a knife clutched in his small hands as if it were a sword. His declaration was met with only more laughter from the pirates. This caused Luffy to get angry at the group of men for not taking him seriously.

The captain, a man by the name of Shanks spoke up. "Haha go for it! Let's see what you're going to do tough guy." He yelled to taunt the small boy.

"THIS IS HOW TOUGH I AM!" Luffy yelled, he then brought the knife up to his face and cut himself as hard as he could under his left eye.

The entire pirate crew stood there in complete shock, many with their mouths hung open. Nothing was said until their captain voiced what the entire crew was thinking.

"LUFFY YOU IDIOT WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?"

* * *

Several hours later Luffy and the Red haired pirates were celebrating in the village bar enjoying a drink after the day's events.

Shanks raised his glass into the air "A Toast! " He called loudly to his crew drawing their attention to him." Let's drink up to our greatness and Luffy's Craziness!"

With that said the party began, the pirates began eating and drinking to their hearts content. Lucky Roo was guzzling an entire barrel of sake, Yasopp was polishing his guns while telling stories, and Benn Beckman was busy breaking up a fight between two drunken crewmates fighting over a piece of meat.

Luffy was sitting at the bar next to Shanks sharing a drink with him. "Ha it didn't hurt one bit!"He called loudly. Luffy puffed out his chest in a hopeless display to appear tough but the tears that were flowing freely from his eyes were a dead giveaway to the pain he was feeling.

"Liar! Don't do anything so stupid again!" Shanks yelled, he was honestly more concerned than angry. He didn't want Luffy doing something even dumber in the future to prove his toughness. Images of Luffy shooting himself in the foot and leaping off cliffs in an attempt to prove his toughness came to mind.

Luffy wasn't fazed by Shanks reprimand. "I'm not afraid of pain at all! Take me out on your next voyage and Ill prove myself!" Luffy proclaimed proudly. The entire crew laughed, they had heard this many times over the past year. They would go out on a voyage and return with stories of adventure causing Luffy to want to go with the next time they set sail.

Shanks was laughing at the kid's declaration. "HAHAHAHA! You can't handle being a pirate Luffy; you're like a anchor in the water. Not being able to swim is a pirate's greatest weakness! Why do you think we got you that shirt?"

Luffy looked down at his shirt and sure enough the plain white shirt had a large anchor on it. "Well it doesn't matter as long as I stay onboard the ship. Besides I'm a good fighter!" Luffy yelled as he leapt off his the bar stool he was sitting on and got into a fighting position.

"I've trained rigorously and my punch is as strong as pistol fire." Luffy proclaimed proudly while punching the air.

"Pistol fire huh?" Shanks said in a dismissive tone while sipping on his glass of sake, only half paying attention to what Luffy was saying.

If Luffy was angry before he was furious now. "WHAT KIND OF TONE IS THAT?!"

"Come one captain one voyage wouldn't hurt" Lucky Roo chimed in as several crewmates voiced their agreement that taking Luffy out once would be harmless.

"Fine I'll take him out if one of you stays behind."

"We've said enough, let's drink!" They immediately ran off to the other end of the bar to resume their partying.

"What kind of friends are you guys?!" Luffy asked angrily, whilst glaring daggers at the crew.

"Look Luffy you're still too young. Wait at least another ten years then I'll reconsider taking you out to sea." Shanks said calmly. Luffy was anything but calm. "Darn it Shanks I'm not a kid anymore!"

"Look calm down, here have some juice." Shanks slid a mug of juice over from his side of the bar into Luffy's waiting hands. Luffy never one to deny anything free thanked Shanks and began to drink happily.

"HAHAHA you really are just a kid, look at him drinking his juice!" Shanks laughed his joke made the entire crew join in his laughter. "If that juice is too strong for you I can get you a nice tall glass of warm milk!" Luffy felt embarrassed by the man's joke so he decided to walk to the opposite side of the bar and sit next to Ben Beckman.

"Luffy you should try and understand the captain's feelings." Ben Beckman said casually while taking a drag from his cigarette.

"Shanks…feelings?" Luffy asked genuinely confused.

"Yes…he is our leader. He knows being a pirate is interesting but he also knows how dangerous it is for someone as young as you to be out at sea." Ben paused to take another drag from his cancer stick "If you were hurt on a voyage he would never be able to forgive himself. "

Luffy hung his head a little after that explanation, he knew being a pirate was a dangerous thing but he couldn't help but want to join Shanks. Just then another presence entered the room, it was the owner of the bar. A pretty young woman by the name of Makino. Her dark hair and simple green dress stood out amongst all the pirates who were in the bar, she was carrying a large barrel of sake over to a bunch of pirates who were running low on the drink.

"You seem to be having fun captain." She chimed in happily while setting the barrel down.

"Yup making fun of him is my joy in life" was Shanks lighthearted response.

Before Luffy could defend himself Makino chimed in to stop the incoming fight. "Luffy would you like something to eat?"

Luffy nodded happily and prepared for his meal. Luffy realized he didn't have any money on his person so he decided to make a promise. "I don't have any money now Makino but I promise I'll pay you with my treasure."

"What treasure? Are you lying again Luffy?" Shanks questioned.

"No I'm not lying. I'm going to be a pirate and pay her back with the treasure I find."

Makino smiled at that response. "I'll just add it to your tab Luffy." She said happily before walking to the kitchen to prepare the food.

Several minutes later Luffy was biting into a steak and talking with Shanks. "So how long are you going to stay?" The boy asked while trying to tear into the tough piece of meat.

"Well set off a couple more times, then we'll head north." Luffy tried to hide his sadness at the news that they would be leaving soon.

"Well I'll be sure to learn how to swim by then." Luffy stated proudly.

Just then the bar doors swung open and slammed against the wall drawing the attention of everyone in the bar. A group of dirty looking men walked into the bar. Their clothes were worn and filthy but they were all well-armed and gave off a menacing presence. "So these are pirates huh?" The leader of the group said out as he looked around the room at the Red haired pirates who had taken a break from their partying to view the bars latest occupants. "First time I've seen pirates, they look pretty dumb to me." He said not caring they could hear everything.

He walked up to the bar and stood right next to where Shanks was sitting and addressed Makino. "We're mountain bandits, we aren't here to cause trouble we just want to buy ten barrels of sake." Makino ran a hand through her hair nervously before responding.

"I'm sorry but we've run out of Sake."

"Oh? Then what are all these pirates drinking? Is it water?" he asked while gesturing to all the pirates in the room who were drinking.

"It's sake but that's all we have" She responded trying to stay calm.

The conversation began to bore Luffy. Looking over at his plate he realized he ate all his food but he was still hungry. He saw a small chest on the bar next to him, his curiosity overcame him and he opened it up to see what was inside. It was a fruit; it was purple and looked like a bunch of grapes stuck together. Luffy was never one to pass on the chance to try something new so he bit into the exotic fruit.

He almost had to stop himself from gagging. It was bitter and seemed to taste spoiled. Luffy never believed in wasting food no matter how terrible, so he ate the rest in one bite and washed it down with some juice. He was distracted from the horrible taste when he saw the bandit smash a bottle of sake that Shanks was kind enough to offer him.

What shocked Luffy most was how Shanks didn't fight back, he just calmly cleaned up after the bandits. The leader took out a wanted poster.

"My name is Higuma, I've killed fifty-six people and I have an eight million Beli bounty on my head." He stated proudly hoping to intimidate Shanks and everyone in the bar. Rather than be intimidated Shanks simply ignored Higuma in favor of cleaning up the shattered bottle. "Makino I'm so sorry about the floor do you have a mop?"Shanks asked as he began cleaning the mess.

Hearing this Higuma took out his sword and swiped it over the bar destroying numerous bottles "There since you like cleaning you can clean all you want now." Higuma stated while laughing along with his fellow bandits. Realizing that the bar had been drunk dry and seeing nothing to gain from staying Higuma gestured for his men to leave. "See ya later you bunch of chickens" He said right as he left through the bars front doors.

After a few seconds of silence the bar erupted in laughter. "HAHAHA he really got you captain!' Lucky Roo stated cheerfully causing more laughter amongst the crew, even Shanks began laughing. Luffy was standing there not believing what he was witnessing.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" He yelled furiously. "You should have fought him, what kind of man lets himself get pushed around like that!?"

Shanks got up off the ground before addressing Luffy. "It was just a little sake; it's not worth getting worked up about." After Shanks said that Luffy simply turned around and began walking out of the bar. "Hey now Luffy don't leave." Shanks said while grabbing Luffys arm stopping the boy.

"I don't even want to look at you Shanks LET ME GO I'm going to find a better role model!" he yelled angrily trying to shake the older man's grip. Shanks shook his head sadly and realized Luffy needed time to cool off, he couldn't expect child so young and hotheaded to understand what had happened.

"Fine have it your way." But Shanks couldn't seem to let go of Luffys arm no matter how hard he tried. Shanks immediately began to struggle to free himself. "Did you cover yourself in superglue or something, what the hell's wrong with your arm today?" Shanks asked as he continued to struggle. After a few more yanks Shanks finally managed to get himself loose but the second he did he ended up flying backwards and hitting the bar with his back.

The entire crew looked confused and shocked. They then saw that Luffys arm was coated in what looked like Black smoke. Shanks looked at his hand and saw it was also covered with the strange substance. "It couldn't be…" he said to himself. Shanks ran to the bar and opened the now empty chest.

"Luffy did you eat the fruit that was in this chest!" Shanks asked fear etched into his voice. Luffy nodded.

"Yeah I did but wasn't that desert? It was right next to my plate."

Shanks didn't know who he was angrier at. Luffy for eating a random fruit kept in a chest or himself for keeping a treasure like that next to him at the bar where food was being served. Acting on instinct he grabbed the boy by his ankles and hoisted him up and began to shake him up and down. "LUFFY YOU NEED TO SPIT IT OUT RIGHT NOW!"

Ben Beckman ran up to his captain and got him to cease his shaking of the young boy. "Captain it's too late he already has the powers! The fruits get to work after the first bite." As if to prove his point Luffy's legs became coated in darkness and the boys gravity increased causing Shanks to drop Luffy who landed on the ground in a heap.

After a minute of calming both Shanks and Luffy down Ben Beckman was able to calmly explain what had occurred to the shocked young boy." Luffy that was a devil fruit and one of the treasures of the sea. Whoever eats one will get a great power but will never be able to swim in the ocean again." Luffy's jaw was literally hanging to the floor; he was stunned into silence it seemed as if his dream of being a pirate just ended.

* * *

Three days later

Luffy was seated once again in Makinos bar. However this time the bar was practically empty except for him, Makino and a couple of farmers in the corner having their lunch. He sat there depressed while drinking some juice Makino was nice enough to give him. "I really misjudged those guys! I thought they were brave and tough…" Luffy muttered sadly.

"Are you sure about that Luffy? Maybe sometimes it takes more courage not to fight." Makino said happily while she polished a glass. Luffy however did not look convinced.

"You're a girl Makino you wouldn't understand. Men stand up for themselves no matter what happens." Luffy said in between sips from his juice.

Ignoring Luffys stab at her gender Makino decided to agree with him. The boy was just too young to understand what Shanks did. "Is that right? I guess I don't understand."

That very second the bar door swung open. "Make way for the terror of the highlands!" The Mountain bandit from three days earlier walked in with his fellow bandits trailing behind him. They all took their seats around the bar. "No pirates in here today? It certainly smells better."

He sat down and leaned back into his chair. "Well what are you waiting for? We aren't so cruel that we won't pay, so serve us some sake."

* * *

Ten minutes later

Mayor Woop Slap loved it whenever the pirates left the village. It's not that he hated or even disliked the pirates; he even had Shanks over for tea one afternoon and enjoyed the man's company greatly.

But he loved how peaceful the village was in their absence. In his younger years he had traveled the world on a merchant ship and saw his share of the terrors the seas held. So now in his old age all he wanted to do was sit back, relax, and maintain the peace of his beloved village.

He took a sip of tea while he sat down in his comfortable chair. He was organizing some papers related to the village's finances and found himself slipping into a state of complete serenity.

"Mayor we've got a problem!" Makino yelled as she ran into the mayor's house.

"I knew things were too damn peaceful."He muttered under his breath. "What's wrong Makino?"

"It's Luffy! He's being attacked by those Mountain bandits!" Concern and fear evident in her voice and made the mayor act immediately without questioning her further. The Mayor grabbed his walking cane and prepared himself for the confrontation.

He briefly considered joining Shanks on his next voyage, maybe then he could get some rest.

* * *

"Ha look at this kid cry; he can barely take any pain at all!" Higuma cackled loudly as he beat Luffy into the ground.

"DAMN YOU, YOUD BETTER TAKE BACK WHAT YOU SAID!" Luffy yelled as he tried his best to punch Higuma. He was going to beat this guy if it was the last thing he did.

But no matter how much he tried he couldn't even lay a punch on the man. He remembered how hard he had trained in order to prove to Shanks how strong he was. He couldn't believe he was so weak and helpless.

"Please let the child go!"The Mayor yelled as he walked up to the group of bandits drawing their attention. The mayor instantly got on his knees.

"I know what Luffy did, and I have no intention of arguing with you." He said in the bravest and most respectful voice he could muster. "But I'm willing to pay you any amount of money, just please let him go."

Higuma turned his attention to the mayor before speaking. "As one would expect it is the elders that know the proper way to deal with any situation." For a second everyone thought this would end peacefully.

"But it's too late! "Higuma yelled."This brat insulted me and I can't let that go unpunished!" He pulled out his sword and was just about to bring it down upon Luffy's head.

But before he could, Shanks entered the scene along with his crew. "I was wondering why no one was there to greet us at the docks." He said as he began walking towards the bandits.

"Heh aren't you the pirates from before? Are you going to clean up the whole town this time?" Higuma asked insultingly. Shanks continued walking towards the bandits acting like he didn't even hear Higuma. After taking a few more steps a Bandit came up and pointed a gun at the captain's head.

"That's close enough sea rat, if you take one step closer to my boss Ill blow your pretty little head off."

"You shouldn't pull out guns and point them at people, you could get hurt." Shanks said calmly while gesturing towards the thug's gun.

This just confused the bandit

"What'd you just say?"

"I said you shouldn't use guns to scare people or you could end up getting hurt."

 **BOOM!**

Everyone was shocked as Lucky Roo the chubbiest and most fun loving member of Shanks crew appeared next to the bandit and shot him in the head while casually eating a piece of meat. The Bandit plopped to the ground lifeless as blood began to pool beneath him.

The Bandits stood there shocked beyond belief that anyone would challenge them but they weren't nearly as shocked as Luffy was. The boy lay on the ground still pinned by Higumas foot but he stared wide eyed at the spectacle before him with complete attention. Luffy had never seen the Red haired pirates do anything more violent than a brawl over food or alcohol in the six months they had stayed in the village. But now he was seeing what it really meant to be a pirate.

If Higuma was angry before, he was seething now. "That was a dirty trick!" He yelled gesturing towards his dead comrade.

"Dirty?" Began Benn Beckman while he casually smoked his cigarette. "Do we look like saints to you?"

"The people standing before you are pirates." Shanks finished.

One of the thugs spoke up "This is none of your damn business so just walk away while you still can!"

"Listen well bandits, you can whip sake and food at me, you can even spit on me and I'll just laugh it off…but." Shanks tone started calmly but was quickly becoming darker and angrier. "I will never forgive anyone who hurts one of my friends!"

Luffy was shocked by Shanks declaration and immediately felt relief and happiness flood through his injured body.

Higuma however was simply amused.

"HAHAHA forgive me? We will destroy you!" He proclaimed loudly. "Get em boys!" With that loud declaration the bandits began to charge the pirates with their swords drawn.

"Leave this to me captain." Benn Beckman said in a laid back tone, he took the cigarette from his mouth and shoved it into the eye of the first bandit causing him to fall back in pain. He then took his rifle and swung it like a club. He swung his gun in a large arch that clobbered several of the Highland bandits who simply fell to the ground beaten and helpless. All the bandits were beaten to a bloody pulp in a matter of seconds.

"Don't underestimate us. If you want to fight us on equal ground you should bring a battalion of marines and a battleship." Ben said casually while standing over the bodies of the bandits. Higuma was shaking in fear. He then took a pistol from his belt and pointed it at Luffys head.

"If any of you even moves a muscle Ill blow this kids head off!"

Luffy was terrified like any child would be in this situation. But he felt his resolve grow stronger as he began to fight against Higuma's weight on his body. _'I have to beat this guy, I CANT DIE NOW!'_ He thought as he put all his energy into struggling.

As if responding to Luffy's will to live, the power that lay within him awakened. Darkness began to coat his body protectively and spread across the ground all around him.

Higuma who had Luffy pinned down with his foot instantly began sinking. "What the hell is this!?" he screamed. Fear overcame him as he struggled to get out of the pool of darkness. He felt like he was being crushed by the air above him. Worse was that every inch of his body that entered the darkness felt like it was being crushed and beaten. After five seconds Higuma was gone, completely consumed by the void.

Everyone who saw this was shocked into silence, not believing what they just observed. Shanks quickly recovered from his shock and ran over to Luffy.

"Luffy are you okay?" The pirate captained questioned as he began to inspect the boy for any injuries.

Luffy lifted himself off the ground weakly. The darkness that coated his body and the ground around him receded back into Luffy as if it were becoming a part of him. Luffy didn't want to worry Shanks so simply gave him a big toothy grin that instantly removed all worry and concern Shanks was feeling.

"I guess I'm okay… but I feel really weird." Luffy stated while staring at his right hand. He felt like he wanted to do…something. It felt like an instinct.

Giving into the urge he was feeling, Luffy thrust his hand out and he watched in amazement as the darkness appeared on the palm of his hand creating what looked like a small black hole. A large figure shot out of it crashing into the wall of a nearby building. When the dust cleared everyone saw the battered form of Higuma lying on the ground. The man looked like he had been trampled by an elephant and the only thing that reassured everyone that the man was still alive was the pained groans he was letting out.

Everyone was quiet not knowing what to say. They were simply staring in amazement at what just happened. Surprisingly Luffy was the first one to recover from the shock.

"THAT WAS SO COOL!"

* * *

Later that Night

Shanks found himself sitting in Makinos now empty bar with nothing but a barrel of sake for company. After the day's events Makino had decided to stay with Luffy to make sure the boy was okay. Shanks volunteered to watch the bar in her absence, it gave him the perfect opportunity to reflect on the thoughts that plagued his mind.

"I really messed things up…I'm sorry Luffy." Shanks muttered to himself as he finished off another glass of sake. The taste was bitter and burned his mouth. He was about to consider switching over to something stronger and began looking through Makinos whisky and rum stores when he suddenly felt another presence in the bar.

"I knew I'd find you here captain." Ben Beckman said as he pulled up a stool and sat next to Shanks. Shanks simply poured out two shots of whisky and handed one to Ben who downed the drink in one go. "I know you like to drink Captain but usually it's when we are partying, I think this is the first time I've seen you drink alone."

Shanks response was to down his own shot of whisky, the alcohol went down smoothly and Shanks sighed in pleasure at the feeling. "I just needed some time to think, I've had a lot on my mind lately." Ben turned and took a good look at his captain, the usually goofy and happy go lucky man was the perfect picture of exhaustion and worry. Ben didn't like it and he didn't want the crew to see the captain in such a state.

"I don't see what you're so worried about, Luffy got out of that situation with only a few bruises and scratches, it helps build character." Ben stated while pouring himself another drink.

"I'm not worried about that I'm worried about Luffy eating that damn Devil fruit, it might just be the death of him and an end to his dream of becoming a pirate before it even starts." Shanks stated in a tone that was laced with worry. "Because of my stupidity I might have ruined Luffy's life. I should have left the fruit on the ship in a locked chest but I had planned to make it a prize in a drinking game. I can't believe I was so stupid!" Shanks yelled angrily, he reached for the whisky bottle but Ben grabbed the bottle before Shanks could reach it.

"That's what's troubling you?" Ben questioned whilst setting the bottle aside. "Most of the world's strongest pirates have been Devil fruit users, it's not that big a deal. Hell you might have helped Luffy out big time. That kids going to grow to be a huge powerhouse of a pirate. The loss of his ability to swim is a bit rough but it's a manageable problem." Ben soothed while he pulled out a cancer stick and began smoking.

Shanks shook his head sadly. "I'm not worried about that, I know that the fruits power will help him, but it will also make him a target. " Shanks grabbed a book that had been sitting on top of the bar this entire time and handed it to Ben.

Ben recognized the book immediately, it was the encyclopedia of Devil Fruits, a very rare book written by Dr. Vegapunk, who was the smartest man in the said research into Devil Fruits and various other areas of science was legendary. The man was said to be five hundred years ahead of his time.

The book itself was rare due to it being illegal to hold unless you were authorized by the government to read it. The reason being was that it not only cataloged all the Devil Fruits in the seas but also held all the secrets and powers that had found about them as well as various ways to use each fruits power. The world government didn't want it falling into the hands of criminals who would use the book to expand their knowledge on Devil Fruits. They were terrified of pirates being able to find and recognize powerful fruits and use them to their fullest potential.

"I got it back when we were traveling through the New World, figured it might come in handy if we ever found one. Look up the Dark Dark Fruit." Shanks ordered as he grabbed the whisky bottle from Ben's hands and poured himself another glass. Ben did as his captain ordered and began skimming through the books various entries until he found the fruit in question near the very end. He began reading and the more he read the more he understood his captain's behavior. "This fruit is…" Ben trailed off not sure what to day.

"Possibly one of the strongest and most dangerous Devil Fruits in the world." Shanks finished for his first mate. "If it were a weaker or less notorious Devil Fruit I wouldn't be worried. But something of this power will attract marines and numerous other enemies. The World Government doesn't like to let Logia users run free in this world. Especially this one…It's possibly the strongest Logia in existence not to mention extremely dangerous to the user if used incorrectly." Shanks downed another shot of whisky before continuing. "And it's all my fault that Luffy's been burdened with this."

Ben let out a frustrated sigh. "You're blaming yourself too much captain. Luffy's a strong kid, he'll be fine. Besides there's not much we can do anyway." Ben stated while taking a drag of his cigarette. "Were setting out for the New World in a few days, so don't worry about it and enjoy some time with the kid before we depart."

"We aren't leaving in two days Ben." Shanks stated with conviction, shocking Ben who let the cigarette fall from his mouth.

"But captain we've been here too long, if we stay here much longer the marines will catch on to us and Luffy will be in even more danger. Besides we've been on this peaceful sea for a long time. The men are anxious to get back to the Grand line."

"I already know that Ben, I have no intention of staying here forever." Shanks retorted. Ben rubbed the front of his forehead trying to banish the headache he felt coming. He loved his captain but the man could be stubborn at times.

"Then what are we going to do? We can't take Luffy out to sea, he's far too young and we can't stay here. What is it you intend to do captain?"

"That's what I've been trying to figure out this whole time." Shanks muttered frustration evident in his voice. "I need to find a way to give Luffy an advantage when he goes out to sea, a way for me to teach him how to be a good pirate and to control his powers without actually having to be there."

"Well I don't know how that's possible captain, it's not like there's a book on how to be a good pirate." Ben mused out loud while turning back to his drink. He was completely unaware of how wide his captain's eyes had just gotten.

"BEN YOU ARE A GENIUS!" Shanks ran up and hugged his first mate. "Tell the men we are staying here for a few more weeks, I have preparations to make." Shanks ran out of the bar and headed towards the docks at top speed leaving behind a very confused first mate.

"What the hell is that man up to?"

* * *

Two weeks later

Luffy walked down to the village docks with a bit of a spring in his step. The last two weeks had been the best of his short life. Usually Shanks would make port for a couple of days before leaving again but he had spent an entire two weeks spending time with Luffy and telling him endless stories and teaching him the basics of what he would need when he set out to become a pirate.

The reason Luffy was heading down to the dock now was that one of Shanks men had said that Shanks wanted to speak with him near where the Red haired pirates anchored their ship. Luffy had been anticipating this all day imagining what Shanks wanted to talk about, normally the man would come and find Luffy , this was the first time he had been summoned before. "Maybe he's finally going to take me out on a voyage." By the time Luffy arrived it was late in the afternoon and the sun had a beautiful orange hue to it as it slowly sank into the western horizon. He saw Shanks sitting at the end of the docks with his feet dangling over the sides, but what was most noticeable was the giant chest that lay on his side.

Shanks took a drink from a bottle he was holding. "Hey Luffy come have a seat with me." Shanks gestured to the spot next to him. The young boy walked over and took a seat next to his role model. Shanks turned to the large chest next to him. "I know you'll be setting out to sea in the future and I wanted to make sure you were well prepared." He gestured for Luffy to open the chest. The boy did as he was urged and opened up the chest and looked at the contents.

"It's…books…" Luffy muttered trying to hide the disappointment in his voice. He was never one to feel ungrateful for a gift but in a chest this large he was hoping for something more…piratey. "I like it when Makino reads me adventure stories but I never really liked doing the reading."

Shanks expected this response and simply let out a light chuckle. "A good pirate needs to know how to read Luffy. Besides those book are anything but boring. Throughout my adventures in all the blue seas and the Grand line I gathered all sorts of books from books on navigation to books about unique islands and adventures people have had. A great captain needs to be knowledgeable Luffy, how do you think I became the man I am today?"

"But Shanks…If I read all this stuff wont it be cheating? I mean I want to be prepared but I also don't want a boring adventure." Shanks knew Luffy would say something like that and had prepared for it.

"Those book are just general tips, besides no two adventures are alike, trust me Luffy you can read all those book and still be endlessly surprised by the Grandline. This isn't cheating." That seemed to soothe the boy's fears of cheating and having a boring adventure so Shanks pressed on. "There's also stuff under the books, it's a huge chest."

Luffy's eyes widened and he quickly began digging through the chest, he found a box full of navigational equipment such as compasses and other tools he didn't know how to use and some strange orb with a needle in it and various other useful things. But what startled Luffy's most of all was that there was a ton of money that filled up a good deal of the chest. "Shanks what's with all this money? I don't want to take your hard earned treasure."

Shanks laughed at Luffy's response. "It's not my money. I had one of my men pose as a bounty hunter and turn in those mountain bandits to the local marine base. Higuma alone was worth 8 million beli but most of the others had bounties as well. Altogether that's 15 million beli in that box, and it's all yours since you're the one who took down Higuma."

Luffy's was shocked but he quickly overcame it. "But Shanks Ben took down all the other guys and Lucky Roo took out one as well, don't they deserve some of this?" Luffy asked.

"Meh Luffy don't worry about it, all the guys were cool with it. Besides that money is nothing compared to what we've gotten in our voyages in this sea. You're going to have to learn to take money Luffy, otherwise you're going to be a very poor pirate."

Luffy didn't know what to say so he simply got up and hugged Shanks with all his might. He rarely ever got presents, he didn't have any parents and his Grandfathers visits and parenting were sporadic at the best of times. "Thank you Shanks…" Luffy muttered trying to hold back tears of joy.

"Don't worry about it, the sea is a dangerous place and I don't want you going out unprepared. Especially with that devil fruit power of yours."

"What's wrong with my power?" Luffy asked. "It let me beat up Higuma, if anything it has made me stronger." Luffy finished as he flexed his arms for effect. Shanks shook his head sadly.

"Look Luffy you are stronger but that Devil fruit is dangerous, it can make you overconfident and let you drop down your guard. No matter how strong that fruit makes you I never want you to stop training your body or honing your combat skills. The worst possible thing you could do is rely completely on that power of yours. Logia users who believe they are invincible have short lifespans. Do you understand?" Shanks usual demeanor was gone and he now had the bearing of a strict father. Luffy saw the seriousness in Shanks eyes and nodded.

"I promise I won't stop training, and I promise I won't get lazy and rely on my new powers." Luffy stated with complete conviction.

Shanks visibly relaxed, a huge burden was lifted from his shoulders upon hearing those words. "We are setting sail tomorrow, so I won't be around to protect you anymore. Be sure to see us off tomorrow, and keep all that stuff safe, you are going to need it someday."

* * *

The Next morning

The Fuusha village docks were full of activity as men ran about loading up various cargo and other necessities onto the Red haired Pirates ship. Various townspeople had also come down to see their favorite pirate crew off. One of those individuals was Monkey D. Luffy and he stood next to his role model Shanks as his men began to load the last of the cargo.

"So this is it?" The boy question. "You're leaving for good this time?"

Shanks nodded. "Yup, we've stayed here long enough, it's about time we moved on. This is the longest we've ever stayed in one spot before…are you upset that were leaving?" The small boy nodded but his face didn't show much sadness.

"Yeah but its fine, I'm not going to ask you to take me out on a voyage. I've decided to simply wait until I'm old enough to become a pirate by myself. Then I'll find you on the seas and show you how great I am."

The older man let out a loud belly laugh. "You're going to make a great pirate someday Luffy but there's no way you'll ever be in the same league as me and my crew. I'm all the way up here." Shanks gestured up high as far as he could reach. "And you're all the way down here." He gestured to the ground. "I would go lower but I don't have a shovel."

"I'll show you Shanks!" Luffy yelled defiantly. "One day I'm going to find a crew that's as strong as yours, and then I'll find the world's greatest treasure. AND BECOME THE PIRATE KING!" He yelled, drawing the attention of everyone on the docks. Shanks crew members simply smiled at the young boy they had come to see as one of their own.

Luffy expected Shanks to laugh at him or make fun of him but instead the man simply smiled. "You plan on being stronger than us someday eh?" Shanks took reached for his sword and handed it to the boy.

It was a naval sabre with a long straight blade made out of a black metal. It had a large handguard made out of gold plate, it was richly decorated with intricate runes.

It was the first time Luffy had ever seen the blade up close and it took his breathe away.

"This sword is my most precious possession. It is my gift to you, one day when you become a great pirate you'll return it to me." He gave Luffy the blade and the boy took it carefully and held it against his chest.

Shanks had planned to give Luffy his straw hat but after seeing the boy's power he doubted the hat would survive crushing gravity and darkness. His sword would also be far more practical and help Luffy survive and become a great pirate.

Shanks walked up to his ship and passed by Ben Beckman. "That kid is going to be a famous pirate someday." Ben said to his captain in a soft voice so that Luffy didn't hear.

"I know he is, he reminds me a lot of myself when I was his age…he even reminds me of a certain man."

The Red haired pirates set sail for the Grandline leaving Fuusha village and a certain boy behind. Shanks looked over the side of the ship and saw all the townsfolk waving goodbye and in front of them was a teary eyed Luffy.

"Grow strong Luffy…"

* * *

Ten Years later.

"He finally left chief." Makino said, trying to hide the sadness in her voice. "Were really going to miss that little ball of energy."

The Mayor nodded his agreement, not even bothering to hide the grimace on his face. "He is going to ruin this town's reputation."

The boy in question was floating out at sea in a small little dinghy of a ship, laying back and enjoying the suns wonderful rays. "The weather sure is nice today." A now grown up Luffy said as he stretched. The boy wore a long black coat with a white undershirt, a pair of simple black pants and some quality boots. He also wore a leather sword harness which held sabre. He also had two flintlock pistols tucked away in a gun belt.

Suddenly Luffy heard a loud noise and looked up and saw a large sea serpent looking at him. "So you're the serpent that's been bothering my villages fishing boats eh?" The boy questioned as he got up, he picked up a small cannonball that was laying on the bottom of his boat and looked up at the beast. The creature stared him down and reared its head back, preparing to lunge.

Luffy's hand became coated in darkness and the cannonball he had in it sunk into the darkness. Luffy reared his now empty hand behind him as if preparing for a punch. The sea king lunged for the boy and Luffy thrust his hand forward, his palm open. A small black hole opened up in the palm of his outstretched hand and the cannonball he absorbed shot out of it.

" **Gravity Cannon**!"

The ball propelled itself forward, and nailed the serpent in the center of its head, killing it instantly.

"Heh I think my cannonball throw is stronger than Grandpas…even if it isn't really a throw." The boy said to himself as he looked at the now dead serpent. He opened up another black hole in his hand and used his free hand to reach into it, after a few seconds of rummaging around he pulled out a large fillet knife, he reached back into the hole and eventually pulled out some wasabi and dried seaweed. "Sea serpent sushi for lunch sounds good."

So began the tale of the next Pirate King.

* * *

 **Authors Note**

Please leave a review, They give me inspiration and let me know if the story is a good one or not.

If this story seems familiar some of you might have already read a chapter similar to this many years ago. That's because I posted this chapter under a different name and title before but never bothered updating it. Since then I've had inspiration to try again, I rewrote this chapter and currently have 5 chapters written they just need editing.

Any questions or suggestions leave them in a review or PM me.

Currently main thing I'm thinking about is going to be the crew name of Luffy's crew since I can't go with Straw hat pirates. Originally Luffy was going to get the straw-hat but I decided to challenge myself to write something different. I have a few names chosen but I would like to hear all of your suggestions and ideas.

Cheers!


	2. Money and Thieves

**Disclaimer- I do not own One Piece**

* * *

Luffy found himself situated on a small island in the east blue, he had but he had brought his small boat ashore to get some rest and training done on the island.

While he loved sailing and being at sea, his small boat didn't allow him to do any form of training. So he had to come ashore to get his training done lest he grow weak, which was something he wouldn't allow.

He found himself doing push ups while a large boulder rested on his back. He had been doing them nonstop for three hours. He had seen the insane strength of his grandfather and knew in order to achieve that he had to push his body past its limits. After reaching his goal for push ups he threw the boulder off of his back and began his next exercise. He began doing squats while balancing a large anchor in each of his hands. Sweat trickled down his head and blurred his vision as he exercised his body and it felt like his legs were on fire but he didn't stop until he had finished his exercise.

After he was done with his leg exercises he went on to his other main training method. He summoned six cannonballs from his darkness, each one extremely heavy meant for blowing through a large vessels hull and began to juggle them. It increased his dexterity and strength as well as training his reflexes.

After twenty minutes of juggling Luffy absorbed all of the cannonballs into the darkness except for one, which he held in his hand and promptly threw with all his strength at a nearby boulder. The boulder shattered into a million pieces and the cannonball contniued along its path and went straight through several trees until it flew into the ocean and caused a massive explosion of water sending numerous fish flying in all directions.

"Need to get stronger…" Luffy let out a deep breath of exhaustion and fell onto his back. "How else will I become Pirate King and claim ownership of all of this world's meat?" he let out a tired sigh and walked over to his makeshift camp, he had a hammock set up between two palm trees, a fire pit where a wild boar was roasting for his lunch, and several chests with various tools and supplies to make his stay on the island leisurely.

Luffy discovered that his Devil Fruit gave him many abilities, but the one with the most practical non-combat use was his ability to store a near infinite amount of items into what he called "Pocket Voids" which allowed him to store food, weapons, ammo, and treasure in his darkness and summon it at will for combat purposes or leisure. He had many voids, some that were calm for storage and others that had chaotic crushing gravity for damaging is why Luffy could stay on even a small island and make camp like he was at a leisure resort.

Luffy put out the fire in his camps fire pit and quickly devoured the now perfectly cooked wild boar. After regaining his strength he laid down ion his hammock and let out a tired sigh. He was tempted to practice his swordsmanship but there wasn't enough time. He had to to sail straight through the night so he needed a nap.

Luffy laid down in his hammock and pulled out a flask from his pocket, it was metal and wrapped in leather. He opened the top and took a drink and had to avoid wincing. He had never liked alcohol, preferring juice, soda, and even water to it. But he always remembered how Shanks had made fun of him for drinking juice and milk.

As a result Luffy began to drink rum which was distilled from sugar cane, while the burning alcohol overrode the sweetness from the sugar it did have a sweet aftertaste. He also bought cheap rum which had a lower alcohol content then the expensive stuff.

Luffy took another swig and this time didn't wince.

"Maybe I am building up a tolerance to it."

He summoned up a bounty poster and reclined in his hammock as he gazed at it.

 _Portgas D. Ace, Bounty 550,000,000_

"Still so far ahead while I'm trying to get enough money for a ship and find a crew member…" Luffy reclined in his hammock and let his thoughts drift to his brother. "He isn't even a captain anymore…"

That bit of news had surprised him Ace, had never been one for obeying orders and yet he was now a commander under the command of Whitebeard, the strongest man in the world.

"I wonder what kind of crew Whitebeard must have to make Ace willing to join them. They must be a pretty interesting bunch…" Luffy drifted off as he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

"You won't get away with this Teach." Thatch breathed out between ragged breaths as he tried to stay conscious. He found himself lying face down on the ground, as a tall and imposing man stood over him. The man's name was Marshal D. Teach and he stood over Thatch holding a Devil Fruit in one hand and bloody dagger in the other.

The two of them had gone ashore with a large group of men from Whitebeard's scouting division to look for resources on a remote island. Teach had specifically asked to accompany Thatch alone. They had been comrades for over a decade so Thatch didn't think much of it, nor did he sense the incoming betrayal until it was too late, when Teach had already sank a dagger into the man's back.

Usually a dagger in the back was fatal but Thatch didn't rise to be a division commander because of his charms, the only reason he wasn't getting up to fight Teach was because his opponent had poisoned the dagger beforehand.

"You should focus on staying alive commander Thatch, I just want the Devil Fruit. There's no need for you to die here." Teach said as his gaze flickered from Thatch to the Devil fruit in his hands. "The poison on this dagger is only a numbing one, just stay down and accept the fact that fate favors me." Teach said as he looked at his new prize. The fruit was an odd one, it looked like three cherries all sharing one stem. One was blood red with orange patterns, another was a dark green with black colored patterns, and the last one was blue with dark blue patterns.

"I asked you nicely earlier if I could have this Devil Fruit, I even offered to pay you for it. But you wanted to eat it in front of Whitebeard and the other division commanders tonight. You wouldn't even let it out of your sight and carried it everywhere so I didn't have a chance to steal it more elegantly. Believe me when I say I had no intention of this happening or turning violent. But I won't let you or anyone else stand between me and my goals."

Thatch let out an angry snarl as he glared daggers at the overweight man next to him. "That's what this all about? The rules of the ship say if you find a Devil Fruit you get first dibs on it. I can't believe you'd attack me over something so petty!" Thatch yelled as he made another attempt to get up but fell down again, the poison numbing his limbs.

"Zehahahahaha!" Blackbeard laughed as he stared down at his former superior officer. "This isn't for some petty reason. The only reason I served on Whitebeards crew for these last few decades was to get a specific devil fruit, I knew I would have the best chance of finding it upon his ship. Unfortunately things didn't work out and the fruit I wanted still hasn't turned up after all these decades. I was about to give up and go out on my own but then this baby showed up." Teach held the devil fruit he had just acquired in front of Thatch's face.

"I thought fate had abandoned me, but it looks like it favors me more than anyone else. This fruit is one that will give me the power to conquer all the seas of this world. The rarest and one of the most powerful devil fruits in this world, it's not the one I originally wanted but it's just as good. I'm no longer Marshal D. Teach, I AM BLACKBEARD!" He yelled as he brought the fruit to his lips and swallowed it all in one bite.

He had to use all his willpower to avoid vomiting up the foul tasting fruit, but after a few seconds he managed to down it. He knew that the fruits worked after the first bite but he didn't want to take any risks. _'With this power I will make the next era mine.'_

While he was eating the fruit Thatch managed to summon all his energy and get up. Ignoring the blood loss, pain, and poison running through his veins Thatch used his sheer willpower to draw his sword and charge at Blackbeard while the man was distracted by his eating.

By the Time Blackbeard got over the foul taste of the fruit all he felt was a sword slash over his left shoulder. "ARRGHH." The giant man screamed as Thatch brought his sword up for another strike. But exhaustion and the poison made his movements slow, and as a result Blackbeard managed to regain his bearings and the large pirate ran Thatch through with his poison dagger before the man could strike again.

The Division commander fell to the ground, breathing hard. "The others…will…make you…pay for this Teach" Thatch gasped out as he felt the life draining from his body. "The deepest part of hell…is…reserved for traitors and…cowards…like…you." Thatch fell to the ground and let out his last breath.

"Damn you Thatch, now everyone's going to want to kill me!" Blackbeard yelled angrily as he kicked his former officer's now lifeless body. He never wanted to kill Thatch, he knew Whitebeard and the others would never leave him alone after this. Stabbing and injuring a crew member was a serious thing on Whitebeards ship but the killing of one was something else entirely. Whitebeard would now be after his head, something he wanted to avoid until he got his ship and crew up to full strength.

"Oh well, nothing I can do about it now. Fate has a funny way of working things out." He let out a deep breath as he felt his body changing, the effects of the Devil Fruit were kicking in and he felt more powerful every second.

Blackbeard was taken out of his musings when he felt another familiar presence enter the area. "Oi captain, we came as requested." Blackbeard looked over and saw one of his crew, a man by the name of Laffitte standing near the edge of the clearing. The man was a tall individual with incredibly pale and sickly looking complexion. He wore a top hat and fumbled around with a cane and tap dancing shoes. "The rest of the crew are waiting at the raft, all preparations have been made captain."

"Very good Laffitte, we need to get out of here before-"

"COMMANDER THATCH!"

Blackbeard looked to the other side of the clearing and saw the rest of the Whitebeard scouting party staring at their now dead division commander. After a few seconds the pirates put two and two together as their gaze flickered from the dead Thatch to the bloody dagger still clutched in Blackbeard's hand. The pirates drew their weapons and prepared to fight.

"Teach you're going to pay for this, you broke the one Iron-clad rule!" The leader of the pirates yelled with the others voicing their approval.

"Should I deal with this captain?" Laffitte asked as he slowly advanced towards the Whitebeard pirates. He was stopped by his captain putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Nah, I want to try out this new power of mine, run ahead and tell the others to get the ship ready for immediate departure. I don't want to stay here longer then we have to." Laffitte nodded and left to fulfill his captain's orders.

"You're overconfident Teach, you might be strong but even you can't take on all of us. We aren't some greenhorn rookies from the blue seas." The leader of Whitebeards pirates proclaimed as he and the rest of his comrades prepared for battle.

"Zehahahaha, you're right about that. Usually I would have great trouble getting rid of you guys, but not anymore. Now that I've gained the power I want, you are all nothing." Teach said as he got into a fighting stance. "Last chance to run away, go home and tell pops that his time is over and that this new Era is mine."

The pirates didn't move from their spots, they were prepared to avenge their fallen commander.

"Very well but don't think I'll hold back..." With that said Blackbeard began tapping into his new devil fruit power, the ground around him began to shake resulting in small chunks of rock dislodging from the ground and flying away. Animals all across the island began to run or fly as far away as possible, and the very grass beneath Blackbeard's feet began to wilt. The Whitebeard pirates began to back off in fear as they saw their former comrade slowly reveal his newfound power. Blackbeard looked up at them his eyes now a pure demonic red.

" **I WILL SHOW YOU ALL THE TRUE POWER OF THE SEA DEVIL!"**

* * *

Alvida surveyed her latest conquest with a fair bit of pride. The high class passenger liner had been filled with the richest residents of the region and now all their gold, jewels, and other assorted valuables were hers.

It was rather pitiful at how easy it was to take the ship, they had waited until it was foggy and snuck up on it. Her pirate crew easily dispatched the few marines who guarded the ship and the rest of the crew surrendered immediately. She watched her crew herd the passengers into her ships brig and load the valuables into her treasure room.

Alvida herself was a tall and very obese woman with long wavy black hair, and freckles on her cheeks. She wore a white cowgirl hat and a typical pirate captain's coat. Her weapon was a large iron mace almost as big as she was that she held over her shoulder with one hand and she swung it as easily as an average man would swing a sword, earning her the name "Iron Mace" Alvida.

"COBY!" Alvida shouted, after a few seconds a small boy ran up to Alvida. His short stature, pink hair, and ragged clothes. Alvida glared at her most pathetic crewmember and couldn't help but feel disgust, if it wasn't for the boy's brilliant mind and navigation skills she would have thrown him overboard ages ago. "Set course for our base, I want the loot stored and prisoners secured until I can ransom them back to their families." Alvida ordered as she walked back to her ship. Coby saluted her and got to work setting course for the island Alvida had been calling home throughout her pirate career.

Unknown to everyone onboard they were being watched, hidden in the fog Monkey D. Luffy was watching Alvida's activities through a small brass telescope. "Yup that's her alright, the fat lady worth five million belli." Luffy muttered as he watched the ship change its course, He opened his own ships sail and began to follow them. Luffy's boat was small but well maintained with a good sail and very little to weigh it down so it was child's play to keep up with Alvida.

Luffy himself wasn't much of a sailor but after years of studying Shanks books he was able to work a ships riggings and steer a ship as any pirate captain should. In regards to navigation Luffy was less successful. Despite reading books on navigation Luffy was not a very good navigator. But he could work a compass and figure out which direction to travel in. In the end he left things up to fate, and this time fate had led him to a pirate with a large amount of treasure and a big bounty.

"With the money from this I'll be one step closer to buying a ship, getting a crew, and buying all the meat I can eat..." Luffy began dreaming about the various types of meat he would eat once this was over with, he had been out at sea for too long without a proper meal. Luffy was so lost in his thoughts of meat he fell behind a bit in his pursuit. Realizing his folly he quickly got out the oars and doubled the speed of his pursuit and followed the pirate ship through the fog. Soon Alvida and her treasures would be his and he would be one step closer to being the Pirate King.

* * *

Alvida's Island was extremely remote and hidden. It was small enough to not appear on any major maps but large enough to hold several buildings to provide shelter for her crew and a place to store treasure and prisoners. It even had a small forest area rich with trees and a dock to allow repairs on her ship. In one of these buildings was a makeshift prison area where Alvida kept her captives

Nami could hardly contain her excitement when the pirates pulled into their secret hideout. She had been posing as a waitress on a high class passenger liner in the hope of pulling a con on some of the richer passengers and liberating them of their money.

When pirates first took over the ship she saw it as an opportunity to steal from two groups at once, it would have been child's play to rob both the passengers and pirates and escape on a small life boat. But when she heard the fat female captain say the pirates were going back to their hideout she chose to stay, the temptation of a pirates entire treasure hoard was too much for Nami to pass up.

She could have easily escaped at any time during her capture but she wouldn't do anything until she found the pirates treasure hoard and discovered an excellent escape plan. For now she was locked up in a large cell with numerous other prisoners. The prisoners were separated depending on how much of a ransom they would bring in. Since she was posing as a waitress she ended up in an isolated cellblock with the rest of the workers and kitchen staff that had been aboard the ship.

It was late now with dawn approaching. The other passengers had long since fallen asleep on the prisons filthy floor. Nami had taken a quick cat nap on a cleaner section of floor earlier and was well rested enough to put her plans in motion. She was about to pull out a lock pick from her bra when the sound of someone entering the cellblock reached her sensitive ears. She quickly put the lock pick back and attempted to act casual.

She saw a scrawny pink haired boy enter the area with a broom and watched as he began to sweep the floors while grumbling. "Stupid Alvida making me sweep up the prison cells. I hope the marines kill her someday, assuming diabetes doesn't do the job for them."

The boy's word intrigued Nami, she didn't think a pirate would speak so poorly of his captain. Several ideas ran through her head as she decided what to do.

Coby was about to finish sweeping the cell area when he heard a whispered voice call out to him. "Psst hey pirate kid, over here."

Coby turned to the voice and saw one of the prisoner's gesturing him over to the cell. Usually he wouldn't go anywhere near the cell but he couldn't help but notice that the girl calling him over was extremely beautiful. Being a slave on Alvida's ship for so long with Alvida being the only female on board made him miss the presence of beautiful girls.

Reluctantly he inched closer to the cell, close enough so that they could whisper but faraway enough that he was out of her reach. His paranoia and fear overriding his admiration for a beautiful girl close to his age.

"I heard you bad mouthing your captain." Nami said smoothly as she put on her most seductive face. She made sure to puff out her chest and expose a bit of cleavage, anything to manipulate the pirate in front of her. "A pirate like you is wasted here, help me out of this cell and lead me to the treasure room and I promise I'll make it _worthwhile_." She gave him a little wink and saw the boys cheeks flush. "I'll even let you join the pirate crew I belong to which is much stronger the Alvida's."

Coby's pink face turned crimson red, but it wasn't from arousal, it was from anger. "HELL NO, I HATE PIRATES!" He yelled into the orange haired girls face causing her to fall back with a shocked expression etched onto her features.

Nami quickly checked her cellmates and found that none of them had awoken from the boy's outburst. One of them shifted a little but it seems like the exhausting events of the day were making them sleep like the dead. She pushed her face up against the cell bars and glared at the boy. "Are you trying to wake up the entire base?"

After his outburst Coby had cupped his hands over his mouth. If any of his crew had heard his yelling he would be dead before dawn. "Sorry, but I just couldn't help it." He said sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"If you hate pirates then why the hell are serving under Alvida?" Nami was genuinely curious about the boy's allegiances. She had hoped she could seduce him into helping her so that she could make a clean getaway with the treasure before betraying him.

At this Coby's eyes became downcast. He related his situation to her how he had stupidly boarded the wrong boat when he went out fishing and ended up on Alvida's ship, and how he had to become their slave in order to survive.

Nami couldn't help but feel bad for the kid, his story wasn't that different from hers. He was forced to join a pirate crew that he hated. After pondering his story a bit longer she decided to help him escape the island so that he could be free…after he helped her find all of the islands treasure.

"I can help you get off the island and live a life far away from Alvida." Nami said which drew in the boy's attention. "I just need you to help me with something…"

* * *

Luffy was sitting on top of a large tree as he looked over Alvida's hideout. He had landed his boat on the far side of the island and was now trying to come up with the best way to go about this situation.

Luffy had taken Shanks words to heart, after reading numerous books and studying to become a pirate he was much more thoughtful and attempting to go through life a bit more cautiously. Which is why he now found himself moonlighting as a bounty hunter in order to gain the funds necessary to buy a ship and provisions before he set out as a pirate in earnest.

He ran through numerous plans on taking out Alvida and weighed the chances of success for each one.

"Screw it, I'll just charge in and see what happens."

In the end he was still a brash and headstrong boy.

Dawn had arrived and the pirates were bustling about their base of operations, this meant cleaning up every single speck of dust around the island and preparing Alvida a grand breakfast. At the center of the base was an open air picnic area with a large table lined with numerous chairs. Sitting in an enormous one was Alvida who was becoming impatient with how long breakfast was taking.

"What's taking those chefs so long? I eat breakfast at eight every morning, delays are unacceptable!" The rotund woman yelled causing many of her crew who either were sitting around her to back off. "If the meal isn't especially good this morning I'll have the entire kitchen staff executed!"

As if on que a pirate leading a group of servers carrying huge trays of food came forward. "Forgive the delay Lady Alvida, but the kitchen staff was busy preparing you a very special breakfast in celebration of your successful voyage. They even have a special dessert that is suited only for you the most beautiful woman in the world." He declared grandly, hoping his captain would have mercy on him. In truth breakfast had taken so long because of the massive amount of food they had to cook for his walrus of a captain.

The man's words seemed to have saved him from his captain's wrath. "Very well but see to it that it doesn't happen again, if this meal isn't delicious you'll suffer the consequences."

The servers brought out a large amount of planters and pans, and set them all down grandly. Thus began breakfast, a stressful affair for Alvida's pirates. This is because she demanded that they sit at the table with her and eat with her, but being a lady of supposed 'refinement' she demanded that they all have perfect table manners in her presence. Despite the fact that she shoved food into her mouth like a woman starved.

The meal was going as expected, Alvida was shoving a majority of the food on the table into her mouth while her crew were meticulously eating small amounts of food in a very slow and careful manner so as to avoid her wrath.

"This is really good food!" A voice called out, shattering the silence of the breakfast table.

All eyes turned to the seat next to Alvida, which was usually empty since none of the crew wanted to be so close to their captain's watchful gaze. They saw a young man dressed in black sitting next to her. She didn't recognize him but then again she didn't really bother memorizing members of her crew. He was eating food at a fast pace with no table manners which was unacceptable at her table.

She turned to the offender. "Who are you and what do you think you're doing? All members of my crew must have perfect table manners!" If looks could kill the young man would have been dead a thousand times over.

"My Names Monkey D. Luffy, and obviously I'm eating food right now. What are you some kind of idiot?" Luffy continued eating and ignored the look of absolute murder that crossed Alvida's face. The woman was about to rise and crush the rude boy but the sound of the dessert bell rung out over the table.

"Lady Alvida, as befitting the most beautiful woman on all the worlds' seas we have prepared a glorious breakfast dessert for you." The waiter put a tray in front of her. "A golden ice-cream sundae. The very best vanilla ice cream money can buy, three of the richest chocolates available and all covered in 23-carat gold leaf along with the finest candied fruits money can buy."

Alvida forgot all about her rage when she laid eyes on such a delectable dessert. "Truly this is a dessert befitting my beauty. Tell the kitchen staff they've earned my pardon for breakfast being late." Ignoring the many thanks of the waiter Alvida grabbed a nearby spoon in her thick fingered hand and was about to take a bite out of the delicacy when it suddenly flew away from her.

She turned and saw it gravitating towards the boy who had rudely interrupted her meal earlier. Somehow the ice cream was levitating towards his hand which had a black vortex on his palm and the boy seized it and took a big unceremonious bite out of it.

"Holy crap that's good! I didn't think you could eat gold, or that it could taste so good." Luffy declared as he eat the rest of the ice cream in one big messy bite.

Alvida's rage was murderous. She stood up and flung the table across the clearing taking with it all the members of her crew who had been eating on the other side of it. She turned to the man who had stolen her dessert. Without warning she lifted her dreaded iron mace with one hand and brought it down with all her strength.

Luffy simply sidestepped the strike and watched as the mace crushed the area he had been standing, sending chunks of earth flying everywhere.

"Watch where your swinging that, you could have killed me you fat wench!" Luffy yelled angrily as he dusted off his clothes, completely ignoring how his words only angered Alvida more.

"Why you rude little wretch, how dare you insult the most beautiful woman in the world!?" She declared as she swung the mace sideways, intend on hitting the boys head as if it were a baseball. Luffy simply ducked under the swing with extreme speed and grace.

"When did I insult a beautiful woman? All I see are a bunch of idiots and a whale that learned how to walk on land." Luffy responded which caused Alvida's face to turn crimson red with anger. "I can't say much about your personality either."

Alvida began to swing her iron mace with amazing speed for a woman of her size each strike stronger then the last and kicking up more and more debris. Luffy calmly dodged each one while a small smile graced his face.

"You little piece of shit." Alvida growled as she took another swing at the boy who had insulted her. "Clearly you're just jealous that you'll never be with a woman as amazing as me!"

"If you had a sister and a dog. I would choose the dog." Luffy responded, dodging another one of her strikes. "We could go on like this all day. In the end all I see are a bunch of people whose bounties will bring me one step closer to achieving my dreams." Luffy said as he drew his sword and prepared for battle.

"Bounty hunter huh? Well you won't be taking anyone's heads here but you'll be losing yours!" Alvida yelled as she brought her mace down for one huge strike. Luffy simply blocked the huge mace with his sword, stopping it mid swing.

Every single member of Alvida's crew ho had been watching the entire exchange started wide eyed as such a small person could block a huge weapon with nothing more than a sword. Luffy kept her mace blocked with his sword hand and used his free hand to attack her.

"Dark Grasp"

Alvida felt herself being drawn towards the boy until his hand was touching the center of her chest.

"Repulsion!"

A strong gravitational force shot out of his hand and sent Alvida flying into a nearby building collapsing the wall.

Luffy turned to the rest of her crew. "Don't think I've forgotten about you guys either **.**

"Black Hole!"

A large amount of darkness came out of Luffy and coated the ground of the entire area. Before they could scream every member of Alvida's crew was sucked into the darkness, and once they were all gone Luffy canceled the ability and drew the darkness back into himself.

"Now to find where the fat lady went." He walked over to where he had sent Alvida flying to collect her the same way he had collected her crew.

* * *

Nami and Coby were currently entering the treasure room. The orange haired girl had managed to convince Coby to release her and aid her in robbing Alvida blind in exchange for helping him off the island. She had waited until breakfast since according to Coby the entire crew would be busy attending to Alvida's needs.

They had just managed to sneak past all the guards and get into the treasure room where they heard the sounds of fighting outside. Neither were sure what to do but Coby settled for panicking while Nami stuffed as much of the treasure into a bag that she could. Both their actions were halted by Alvida herself plummeting through the wall of the treasure room and sending them both into shock.

Neither Nami nor Coby moved due to their shock until a young man walk through the hole in the wall that Alvida created.

"Maybe I sent her flying with too much force, I don't want to kill anyone unless I have to." Luffy said as he walked into the room, his gaze on Alvida faltered when he realized the entire room was filled with treasure. "Jackpot, who would've thought a weakling pirate like her could have gotten so much loot?" Darkness seeped out of his body onto the ground and began to absorb all of the treasure in the room.

While both Nami and Coby were horrified by the stranger that had just entered the room and the horrible frightening darkness that emerged from him and sucked up all the treasure, both of them had very different reactions.

Coby cowered because he thought he was seeing the devil or a Shinigami come in to absorb their souls into the dark underworld.

Nami on the other hand just got pissed that the treasure was all gone.

"THAT'S MY TREASURE YOU DARKNESS SPEWING BASTARD!" Nami yelled as she ran up to him and delivered a rage filled punch to the side of his face.

Luffy flew to the other side of the room clutching his head which was now sporting a large lump. "Damnit, got distracted by treasure." He muttered angrily to himself. "Who the hell are you two? More pirates?"

Nami huffed angrily. "I'm a thief who steals treasure from pirates. Now who the hell are you to come in here and steal the treasure I was already in the process of stealing!?" She demanded as she pointed her staff at the black clad teen.

Luffy looked over to the girl's side and saw she had a large white burlap sack with gold peeking out of the top. He got up from the ground to dust off his clothes and recover from the strong punch he had just gotten. "Well My names Monkey D. Luffy. I'm kind of a bounty hunter and treasure seeker at the moment but it's only a temporary thing. I find bad people I don't like and steal their treasure and sometimes turn them into a bounty office if they have a bounty."

Nami let out a slight sigh of relief, at least he wasn't another pirate. "Well I found this treasure room first, I have no idea what sorcery you did just now to make it all disappear but I want it back!"

Luffy let out a laugh. "Shishishishishishi I ate the Dark Dark Fruit, I'm a man that can control darkness. I can create an infinite amount of pocket voids to store treasure. Besides you seem to have a good amount of treasure in the bag, you can take that and we'll call it even."

Nami wanted to go in for another punch but stopped herself. She had always thought devil fruits were a myth but seeing this guy's abilities made her reconsider her views. As much as she wanted to fight him for the treasure she didn't want to test her luck.

"I'd hardly call us even, if you escort me and my friend here off this island to safety Ill consider us even for the time being."

Luffy looked over to the pink haired boy who had spent this entire time cowering in the corner. "Who are you?"

"C-c-Coby." He managed to stutter out.

"Good to meet you. Let me just call in the bounty office and we can be on our way." Luffy summoned a large Den-Den-Mushi from his darkness. The creature was calmly napping as Luffy dialed a number into it.

" _East Blue Bounty office."_ The snail spoke transferring the words of the person on the other line.

"Oi this is Luffy, I've caught Alvida and her crew alive along with a bunch of people that were her prisoners. I want to claim the bounty."

" _Ahhh Luffy we haven't heard from you in a while. We'll send a ship over with a reward which will be paid upon confirmation of the completed bounty. We'll also send some men to help those kidnapping victims, just send us your coordinates."_

A few hours later Luffy was counting the beli he had just received from the bounty officer as he watched Alvida and her crew being dragged onto the marine ship. He also saw the numerous kidnapped victims from the passenger liner being led onto a separate ship which was to take them home. The bounty officer looked at the boy with admiration. "You should consider joining the marines Luffy, or at the very least becoming a full time bounty hunter. The work suits you."

Luffy shook his head. "That's not my dream. Being a marine requires too much discipline and taking orders and bounty hunting isn't my passion. I just need to do this for the money, I have a very different thing I want to do with my life."

The bounty officer saw no point in arguing so he left the boy in peace and both marine ships set off which made Luffy sigh in relief just a little. While he might not have become a pirate yet he didn't want the marines hanging around him.

Luffy almost laughed at himself, there was a time where such caution was an absurd concept but years upon years of reading every single book he could find about pirates and he saw most pirates failed in their journey because they were unprepared and got caught by marines. If he was going to be the pirate king he needed to be strong and careful…but not too careful. After all if he was always cautious that would make his journey for one piece very boring.

He walked over to where his small dinghy was anchored and found both Nami and Coby already in the boat.

"Oi I thought you two would have gone with the marines." Luffy said as he walked over to his boat and hopped inside.

"I don't trust marines very much, they ask too many questions. Besides you promised me you would escort me to the next island, I still have a promises to fulfill to my friend here." Nami said gesturing to Coby. It was tempting to simply give him over to the marines that had come over to collect Alvida but with her crew there the chances of his past being found out were too high. Even if he was an unwilling member of the crew he was still a part of it in the laws eyes.

"Fine by me, but keep in mind that there's a marine base at the next place I'm visiting." Luffy got his sail ready and set off into the ocean. His small boat was rather cramped with the three of them inside but thankfully the next island wasn't that far away. "full speed to Shells town."

* * *

After a few hours at sea Luffy was reading a book, Coby was leaning over the side of the boat seasick and Nami was watching Luffy intently.

"So I overheard your conversation with the bounty officer. It sounds like you have no interest in being a bounty hunter or a marine." Nami asked as she took a seat across from her strange new acquaintance.

"It's not my dream."

"Then what is your dream? It seems like you could become rich being a bounty hunter with that ability of yours."

Luffy looked up from his book. "I want to be free to travel the seas of the entire world and go on endless adventures. For that reason I want to find One Piece and become the Pirate King."

"You want to become a pirate!?" Nami couldn't believe that a bounty hunter wanted to become a pirate. "You want to pillage people's money and destroy people's lives? That's disgusting, I hate pirates."

"Pillage and destroy people's lives?" Luffy asked. "I got no interest in that, I just want to find treasure and go on adventures with a crew. The point of being a pirate is being free, and the Pirate King is the guy with the most freedom in the world."

"That's the dumbest reason for becoming a pirate ever, you'd have the marines hunting you all the time, your freedom would be hindered by becoming the Pirate King." She responded with a mixture of anger and relief. _'I guess he's not really a pirate, just a kid who knows nothing about what pirates are really like and simply has a romanticized idea about what they are…either that or he's just an idiot'_

Coby also decided to chime in"Not to mention the fact that being the Pirate King is impossible, you'd have to sail to the end of the Grand Line and no one since Gold Roger has managed that. Numerous people have died pursuing that phantom treasure, it's impossible, absolutely impossible for you to-" Coby was silenced by a punch from Luffy which caused the young boy to fall which rocked the small boat.

"Why did you hit him!?" Nami yelled as she walked over to comfort the pink haired boy.

"It's okay Nami, I got used to this on Alvida's ship…" Coby muttered as he nursed his cheek.

"I hit him because I couldn't stand him spouting that kind of nonsense." Luffy said casually as if nothing had happened. "I don't care whether or not I die. It's my dream and I'm pretty sure I can accomplish it, but even If I can't and I end up dying while trying that's fine as well."

"That's amazing." Coby began "Maybe I'll be able to accomplish my dream….if I'm willing to die trying to achieve it." Coby stood up and ignored the pain from Luffy's punch. "In that case I'm going to become a marine so that I'm never a victim again and so that I'll be able to protect innocents from people like Alvida."

Nami approved of the boys plan. "That's great Coby, the marines could use someone like you."

"They could use someone like you as long as you toughen up a bit. But if I'm going to become the Pirate king it means we'll one day be enemies." Luffy pointed out.

"Yeah I guess so…"

Nami got bored of all his tough talk and decided to ask a question that had been bugging her. "So where the hell are we going anyway? Do you even know how to navigate?"

Luffy walked over to his compass and map and looked at them intently. "I'm pretty sure we are heading the right way, north of here is Shells Townand we're going in the right direction according to the compass."

Nami wanted to smack him in the head for his idiocy. "All that does is make us go into the right direction! What about calculating the best route around sea hazards, dodging bad weather patterns, and using strong currents and winds to your advantage?"

Luffy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I tried reading about all that stuff but didn't understand it much. It's too much of a hassle, I can steer the ship through most hazards and I'm not worried about how long a voyage takes since I can store a ton of food and water with my Devil Fruit ability." To prove his point some darkness shot out of his body and onto the floor of the boat. Instantly a barrel of water and a bag of provisions rose out of it and settled onto the floor of the boat. "See I don't have to worry about the details for now, I'll just get a navigator to worry about those."

Nami let out a tired sigh and look at the map. "This route is fine but in about an hour well have to take a 90 degree turn here and then adjust our course around here." She said pointing to the map. "This is the best route since a storm system will be passing by in about an hour."

Luffy looked at Nami with a thoughtful look before breaking out into a huge smile. "Wow you're really good at navigating. You should join my crew as navigator when I decide to set out for One Piece."

"I refuse, I'll never sail with a pirate."

"Well I refuse your refusal." Luffy answered ignoring Nami's glare. "There's no need for you to decide right away. I still need to recruit some more members and get a hold of a ship."

Nami was prepared to argue with Luffy but she decided to ignore him. She planned to leave him after the next island. "So why are we going to a marine base? You already got the bounty on Alvida and I doubt you'd be able to make money off of bounties over there." She asked as she adjusted the ships course.

"There's a man being held there who I want to join my crew, the Pirate hunter Zoro."

At the mention of that name Coby almost had a full panic attack. "Luffy there's no way you'd want a man like that one your crew. I've heard that he's a blood hound who hunts down men as if they are animals. Not to mention the fact that a man who goes by 'pirate hunter' probably wouldn't want to become a pirate."

Luffy waved his concerns off. "I'm not committed to anything yet, it all depends on whether or not he's a good person. Besides right now I'm a part time bounty hunter who intends to become a pirate. Who's to say Zoro isn't the same way?"

* * *

Alvida struggled against her bonds and managed to get herself free. She was in the hold of a small prison transport ship which was no doubt taking her to a courtroom somewhere where they would declare her guilty of piracy.

Despite her situation her thoughts turned to the mysterious boy who had defeated her. Monkey D. Luffy, she felt a blush adorn her fat cheeks. It had been he first time a man had stood up to her and defied her. He had even struck her and defeated her in combat something else no one had managed to do.

 _'He is a real man, unlike all those other weaklings that simply obey me...'_ She thought to herself. But she knew he didn't find her attractive and had even said her personality was terrible, but that only made her feel even more infatuated. _'A complete strike out, truly a challenge befitting a woman like me.'_

But for now she had to focus on escaping. None of this would matter if she was sent to prison or publicly executed. She used her free hand to reach into her bushy hair and pulled out a pink fruit roughly the size of an orange. It was a devil fruit, one she had found recently during one of her successful raids. She had been debating for a long time whether to eat it and had kept it in her hair in case she ever needed it. Now was the time to use it.

She took a bite and had to stop herself from gagging at the horrible taste. Her entire body suddenly felt like it was on fire and she felt herself changing in ways she didn't understand. The pain was excruciating and caused her to pass out.

Half an hour later she woke up and felt a million times lighter. She scrambled up and looked around her lonesome cell. Her prison garb was now oversized and she had to wrap herself with it a tie it up like a makeshift toga to maintain her decency.

"What type of power did I get?" She walked over to the bars of her cell and tried to use strength to get through them. She failed but by accident ended up slipping through the thin bars and was amazed at how smooth her skin was. She snuck out of the cell and ducked into a bathroom area to avoid a marine patrol. She looked in the mirror and what she saw shocked her.

"My freckles are gone!"

* * *

Ace and Marco stood on top of their ships figurehead as it pulled up to the last known location of the scouting party they had sent here. Thatch and Teach had been tasked with finding resources to repair Whitebeard's fleet after a battle with Kaido.

It had been three days since Thatch had reported back and Whitebeard became worried so he sent two of his best commanders to find their wayward brothers. Both of them got off the ship along with several of their strongest men and began to search the island.

"Everybody form groups and spread out. Call out if you find anything." Ace ordered as his crew rushed to obey his commands. Several search parties were formed and headed in different directions while Marco and Ace went together through the center of the island.

"This doesn't seem right, this island is far too quiet yoi." muttered Marco as he surveyed the island.

"You're right there isn't a single animal making noise anywhere." Ace said as he looked around the island. "Something must have happened."

After several minutes of walking through the thick vegetation the two of them came to a clearing and what they saw made them stop dead in their tracks.

The clearing ahead was filled with bodies, all of them dead and mangled. Some of them looked like they had been burnt, some were blackened in a way that didn't seem to be caused by fire, and numerous others were simply staring up into the sky their expressions ones of pure unspoken agony, and numerous others were simply torn apart and their limbs scattered everywhere.

The division commanders shook themselves out of their stupor and ran ahead and began inspecting the bodies searching for survivors or at the very least any evidence of who had done this. The mutilation of the bodies made identifying the deceased difficult much less finding out who was responsible. Ace surveyed the corpses and tried to match up limbs while Marco called the rest of his crew over to aid them.

Several minutes passed and they were joined by the rest of their men who were just as horrified as they were at the scene. All of them began investigating the area and attempted to identify the bodies or at least piece them together for a proper burial.

"This had to have been Kaido, he is more beast then man. Only he could show this kind of senseless brutality." Ace said as he inspected his fallen comrades and did his best to hold back his anger and sorrow.

"Not likely, Kaido was never known for his subtlety yoi. He would have attacked our fleet head on for revenge, besides after the thrashing we gave him a few weeks ago I doubt he would be back up to full strength." Marco answered.

"I found a live one." One of their men called out as the entire group ran over to see the survivor.

Under a huge pile of bodies and body parts a single crewman was shivering and cowering. He was covered head to toe in blood and guts and his eyes were wide with terror. After making sure the man was alright Ace began questioning him.

"What happened here? Who did this?" Ace asked trying to shake the man out of his fearful stupor. "Was it Kaido? Big Mom? Who did this to you guys?"

"Not Kaido, not Big Mom. It was Teach!" The man managed to gasp out before breaking into sobs and falling onto the ground. "Teach betrayed us!"

Ace felt his entire world upon hearing those words. Teach had been a friend to him as well as a trustworthy subordinate, and had even been the one to encourage him to become division commander. Not to mention the fact that the man was part of his division. "That can't be! Even if he was a traitor how could he have done all this?! He isn't anywhere near strong enough for that!"

"He killed Thatch and took the devil fruit that he had planned to eat in front of pops and the other commanders! He ate it and with that horrible power he became unstoppable, no one can stop what he has become!"

Ace helped the crewman to his feet.

"What has he become?"

The pirate overcame his fear and answered with the only word he could use to describe Teach.

"The Devil."

* * *

 **Authors Note**

Thank you for the wonderful reviews and response. I only hope my writing can live up to your expectations and bring you joy.

If Luffy seems OOC that's because he is different due to several events that I will be slowly revealing as the story develops. Lets just say his change in Devil Fruit abilities effected many things in his past. Also his greater vocabulary and intelligence is due to his constant reading.

This is my first serious story so I'm a little nervous about posting it so your reviews and encouragement have helped me out greatly and make me confident enough to continue writing.

I was tempted to Leave Blackbeard high and dry but I think he is a great villain and wanted to make him a credible threat.

Hopefully I can make the trek through East Blue interesting. To be honest I want to make things unique, while I love the various fan fictions around the site you can only read them so many times before patterns emerge. I will be trying to get through East Blue saga quickly while putting my own unique spin on things so please bear with me and be patient.

As always Thanks for reading and please leave a review. Also feel free to offer suggestions or story ideas. I cant promise Ill use them but I can promise to read it over and consider it.


	3. The Pirate Hunter

**Disclaimer-I do not own One Piece**

* * *

"We finally reached the marine base." Nami said as she looked at the island that held one of East Blues primary marine bases. Thanks to her navigation skills she and her two companions arrived in record time which was good since sharing a small boat with two boys was very unpleasant.

The three of them pulled the boat into port and tied it to the dock. Luffy was the first to get off the boat.

"Let's go get something to eat." Luffy said as he walked down the streets in search of a good restaurant.

"How is he still hungry? He ate three meals while we were sailing here…." Coby said as he followed after Luffy.

"It's like his stomach is a black hole." Nami muttered as she walked alongside Coby. "All I know is he better be the one paying…"

Ten minutes later the three were seated at a table in a restaurant called Food Foo. The three of them had gotten their food and were now discussing their future plans as they enjoyed a homemade meal.

"Well this is where we part ways." Nami said while taking a sip of her fruit juice. "I've fulfilled my promise Coby, you better enlist and become a strong marine." She turned to Luffy. "As for you I hope you give up your dream of becoming a pirate. You seem like a nice guy but you're very naïve."

Luffy stopped eating his food for a second and considered her words. "It's my dream so I won't be abandoning it, besides you can't leave yet. I still haven't convinced you to join my crew."

Nami couldn't believe how stubborn the boy was. "Well I need to make money and I can't do that if I'm dicking around with you as you search for crew members."

Luffy thought about it for a second. "Well I go after pirates for their bounty's and treasures. I'll make you a deal, in exchange for being my navigator I'll give you equal share of any treasures I take in."

Nami thought about that and it was an attractive offer. The boy was clearly powerful and knew what he was doing, he easily dispatched Alvida and her entire crew. "Fine I'll be your navigator for the time being, but only for as long as you're a bounty hunter. Once you decide to become a pirate in earnest I'm leaving."

"That's great! That will leave more than enough time for me to convince you to become a member of my pirate crew."

Seeing no point in arguing Nami stayed silent as they finished their meal. Thankfully Luffy paid their bill and all three of them walked over to the marine base that was situated as the centerpiece of the island.

Before they could arrive at the building their eyes were drawn to a small girl who was entering a prison yard, intrigued by what she was doing the three of them looked over the wall of the prison yard and saw that she was heading right to a figure that all three of them recognized as the feared pirate hunter Zoro.

"Big Brother, I bought you some rice balls. You're hungry aren't you?" The girl said offering the food to the tied man.

"Go away kid, you want to die or something?"

"But it's the first time I've ever made rice balls…"

"I said go away!"

"You shouldn't be picking on little kids Roronoa Zoro. If you do I'll tell my father about it.!"

All heads turned to see a smug young man in a business suit flanked by two marines. His limbs were lanky and he practically oozed slime as he ran a hand through his long blonde hair. This was Helmeppo, the son of the marine bases commander.

"Who the heck is that weirdo?" Luffy asked as he watched the blonde man walk over to Zoro and the little girl.

"He must be a high ranking marine, which means the little girl is safe." Coby added with obvious relief.

Zoro simply scoffed at the other boy's appearance. "Well if it isn't the lieutenant's bastard son."

"Bastard? Don't get cocky Zoro you're only alive because of my mercy." Helmeppo turned to the little girl. "Why hello there, are these rice balls? They looks pretty tasty." Ignoring the girl objections he grabbed one and bit into it.

"Blleuuhh too sweet!" He said as she spat out of bite he took. "You're supposed to put salt in these things not sugar!" He grabbed the rice balls from the girls hand and threw them on the ground and began to stomping them, ignoring the girls screams for him to stop.

"There not at least the ants can eat them." Helmeppo chuckled to himself. "Consider this a lesson little girl. You see that sign?" He gestured to the sign near the entrance of the courtyard. "That means no one is allowed in without clearance, doing so will result in you suffering the same fate as the prisoner."

"But…I…"

Seeing that the child was going to be stubborn the blonde turned to one of his marine bodyguards. "Guard just remove her from this place by force, the brat won't listen."

"But sir she's just a little girl."

"Are you disobeying me? I'll tell my dad!"

The trio watched as the soldiers rushed to obey the boy orders and threw the girl over the courtyard wall. Luffy was fast and quickly ran over and caught her before she hit the ground.

Coby and Nami went over to the girl to check up on her but Luffy chose to spy on Zoro and Helmeppo.

"I'm going to endure this for a whole month, but you better keep your promise." Zoro growled out threateningly to which Helmeppo just laughed.

"Hehehe I'll keep my word. If you last the whole month you will be released." He said as he walked out of the courtyard flanked by his bodyguards.

Seeing that they were gone Luffy leapt over the enclosure and walked right up to Zoro who was intensely studying Luffy.

"You a pirate? The swordsman suddenly asked which surprised Luffy greatly.

"Not yet, right now I'm a treasure seeker and part time bounty hunter. But once I'm ready I do intend to set off on a grand adventure as a pirate. How did you know?"

Zoro chuckled. "I've seen enough pirates to know when ones standing before me, besides that outfit looks like the way a pirate would dress. A black naval coat slightly worn by the sea, white undershirt made out of quality sea cloth, same as your pants, boots designed for combat and avoiding slipping on a vessels deck, two pistols which are obviously custom, and a high quality sabre if the gold plated hilt is anything to go by."

"Wow you are good. I already know who you are so allow me to introduce myself." Luffy crossed his arms in the attempts at making a dramatic pose. "My name is Monkey D. Luffy the future pirate king, and I've come here to recruit you Roronoa Zoro into becoming a member of my crew so that we can find one piece, go on adventures, and generally have a wonderful time."

Despite his exhaustion and hunger Zoro managed to let out a loud laugh which lasted for a good ten seconds before he calmed down. "Are you planning on releasing me and shanghaiing me into joining your crew? Well even if I was that desperate I wouldn't join you, I have dreams of my own that I'm not willing to abandon just to join some random crook on a suicidal adventure."

"Well take your time in deciding, I'll be here for a while."

Seeing that Luffy was about to leave Zoro decided to make one plea. "Before you leave could you please give me those rice balls?"

Luffy looked down and picked them up. "You sure you want them, they are rather muddy…" Zoro simply held his mouth open, beckoning Luffy to them to him which Luffy obliged. He watched as Zoro gagged and struggled to eat them until he finally managed to get them down.

"Thanks…tell that little girl they were very delicious."

Luffy smiled and opened a black portal on his hand and summoned a water skin from the darkness. Zoro was amazed by the apparent sorcery the boy performed but was stopped from questioning him about it when Luffy held the open flask up to his mouth.

"Here, you'll die from dehydration faster than starvation, I'm amazed you lasted nine days like this."

Zoro quickly drained the water flask dry and let out a satisfied sigh. "I get a bit of water whenever it rains, but yeah if it wasn't for several rainy days I'd be in trouble."

"Before I leave…what's this dream of yours that would prevent you from following me to One Piece?" Luffy asked as he put his water skin away.

Seeing as how the other boy had given him water Zoro decided to tell him the truth. "I intend to become the world's greatest swordsman, in order to do that I must kill the man who currently holds that title."

"Well if that's your dream you should definitely join my crew. I'm the man who's going to become the Pirate King. I'll be needing the help of the world's greatest swordsman if I'm to accomplish that. I'm heading into the Grand Line where the most powerful men in the world are said to dwell, fighting those guys will make you stronger than you would ever become hanging out in this peaceful sea."

Seeing that his words had an effect on the Pirate hunter Luffy turned and began to walk away.

"I'll be back soon, think about my offer."

* * *

"He really ate all of it?" Rika asked as she talked to Luffy, Coby, and Nami.

"Yup he ate all of them and said they were delicious." Luffy confirmed happily as all of them sat on the porch of Rika's house.

"Wow I guess he isn't as bad a guy as his reputation would have us believe." Nami said thoughtfully.

"Big brother didn't do anything wrong." Rika said, explaining that Zoro had simply defended her from Helmeppo's pet wolf when it was running loose and wild through town. As the trio listened to the girl's story they heard a very familiar voice calling out.

"No one had better raise their heads or else I'll tell my dad!" Helmeppo said as he walked through town as confident as a king while all the townspeople bowed on both sides of the road. "None of you better act up like Roronoa Zoro, I'll be executing him in three days as an example to anyone who dares raise their hands against me."

Helmeppo stopped when he saw Luffy standing in his way.

"I thought you said you would give him a month?" He asked in a neutral tone that held a tiny tint of danger to it.

"I should have my men rough you up for standing in my presence, but I'm in a good mood so Ill spare you." Helmeppo stated as he looked at the boy across from him. But yes I did tell him that as a joke, the truth is I simply wanted to see the look on his face come execution day when he realizes the truth and-" He never got to finish his sentence because in a flash Luffy had appeared in front of him and delivered a vicious punch to his face.

Luffy was about to charge in and deliver several more blows to the other boy but Nami and Coby ran up and grabbed him before he could attempt it.

"Luffy stop you're only going to get us in trouble with the marines!" Coby said as he tried to hold onto the boy's right arm.

"He's right Luffy, besides that piece of trash isn't even worth hitting." Nami echoed as she held onto the boys thrashing left arm.

Helmeppo was crying as he felt his nose which was definitely broken, but he overcame his pain with anger and glared at the boy. "You bastard! I'm going to tell my father!" he yelled out several more curses as the marines guarding him helped him back to the base.

Luffy managed to calm himself and stopped resisting his friends vice grips."I was hoping to wait a bit to let Zoro change his mind on his own but it looks like we have to get him out of there before that asshole executes him." Luffy said, shaking out of his companions grasps.

"I normally wouldn't support something so bullheaded and stupid but I can't stand the thought of that guy getting away with this." responded Nami as she thought about what to do next.

"Well then let's go!" Luffy began running in the direction of the marine base much to the annoyance of Nami and Coby.

"You imbecile we need a plan you can just run off!" Nami yelled but she quickly saw Luffy was beyond her hearing range.

"I can't believe he's survived this long…" Coby said agreeing with his orange haired friend.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Luffy ran up to Zoro who was still tied up in the prison courtyard.

"Back already…my mind still hasn't changed."

Luffy ignored him and began to untie the ropes that bound the swordsman. "It doesn't matter. Helmeppo isn't going to keep his word. He said he was going to have you executed in three days and that you starving here was just for his own amusement."

Zoro's anger rose to levels he didn't think possible. "That bastard…once I find him I'm going to cut his body into a sashimi pieces."

The ropes were too tight to Luffy settled for cutting them with a small knife he kept in his belt. Once Zoro was free the swordsman fell to the ground in exhaustion, his muscles aching as he tried to move them since they hadn't really had a chance to stretch in days. He tried to get up only to fall down again and let out a string of curses at his own weakness.

Darkness seeped out of Luffy and coated the ground in front of Zoro, startling the pirate hunter. Before his eyes out of the darkness a large water skin appeared along with a loaf of bread and dried meat.

"What the hell are you some kind of sorcerer?" He asked as he looked suspiciously at the food and water even as he had to fight the urge to pounce upon it.

"I'm the man who is going to be the Pirate King." Luffy answered happily as he withdrew his darkness back into his body.

"You're an idiot is what you are." A female voice called out from the courtyard entrance. Luffy and Zoro turned to see Nami and Coby rush into the execution yard. "Running guns blazing into a marine base is not very subtle." She said angrily as she walked up to the two men.

"Shishishishi we are long past subtle right now. Besides I couldn't have my future crew member's life endangered because of some snake like Helmeppo." Luffy turned to Zoro. "I was hoping to give you more time to consider my proposition earlier but things are moving at a fast pace. Have you reconsidered joining my crew?"

Zoro thought about it for a few seconds and he was surprised at how quickly he made up his mind. "Hehehe fine, I suppose the man who will become the Pirate King will have a lot of tough fights ahead of him which will make me stronger. But I'll only join on the condition that you return my swords to me. There are three of them, but the only one I really need is the one in a white sheathe. That bastard Helmeppo probably has them. His room is on the top floor."

"Nami, Coby you take care of him, I'll be right back. Be sure to eat that food and drink that water, I get the feeling you'll need your strength." Luffy ran up to the side of the marine building , he didn't have time to run up the stairs and he would probably get lose trying to navigate such a strange looking building so he decided to take a shortcut up. He coated the bottom of his boots in darkness and jumped onto the side of the building. He increased the gravitational pull of the darkness on his boots so that he stuck to the side of the building and quickly began to run up its side as easily as a man would run on flat ground.

Zoro was eating the food Luffy left and watched as the boy ran up the side of the building like some kind of ninja.

"What type of captain have I found myself?"

"An insane one." Nami answered.

* * *

"That's the right position, now begin lifting the statue." A tall man ordered as he observed the marines in front of him begin lifting his pride and joy, a statue made in his image that would look down on all those who dwelled on this island.

This was Axe-hand Morgan, a behemoth of a man who was in charge of the marine base. His two most distinguishing features being the metal jaw plate he had on his lower jaw and his right arm where he had surgically grafted an enormous axe to replace his missing hand which had quickly became his namesake.

"Father haven't you been listening to a word I've told you!" Helmeppo yelled angrily. "That bastard in town struck me. Why won't you help me take revenge? Even you've never hit me before!"

"Do you know why I've never hit you?"

"Of course it's because I'm your precious son that-"

Helmeppo was cut off when his father struck him with his left hand which sent the boy flying to the opposing side of the tower.

"The only reason I've never hit you is because you're a bastard son not worth hitting!" Morgan said angrily as he stood up. "Why should I have to clean up your mess? I have far more important things to do. If you want to do things in my name that's fine but don't expect any help from me when it backfires. I'm the great one here not you!"

He held up his right arm. "With this arm I rose to the rank of lieutenant, rank is the most important thing in this world. I'm the highest ranking one at this base which makes me the greatest one here! Now that this statue is complete after years of hard work everyone here will know this fact!"

Just then the hand of the statue hit the side of one of the bases towers, causing a minor scratch to appear on it.

"You bastard, you just damaged my statue. This statue represents me and by damaging it you've shown that you don't respect me!"

"No please lieutenant it was an accident." The marine pleaded as he saw his superior preparing to strike him down.

"I've finally reached the top!" a voice called out drawing everyone's attention.

Luffy leapt up the side of the tower but ended up overshooting his leap and landed on the first thing he could find that would grant him solid footing. Which ended up being the head of Morgan's statue. The extra weight from the boy was too much and the statue fell over and snapped in half, Luffy quickly leapt off of it onto the tower in time to watch as the top half of the statue tumbled over the side.

Everyone had a look of absolute horror on their faces, even the usually stone faced Morgan looked like he was going to shed a tear as he watched his image and years of work fall over.

"Sorry about that." Luffy said as he dusted himself off.

Helmeppo was the first to recover his wits and pointed an accusatory finger at the boy "You bastard that was my father's statue!"

"Your fathers? In that case I'm not sorry at all. But seeing as how you're already here maybe you can help me find something." Luffy extended an open palm in his adversary's direction.

"Dark Grasp."

Helmeppo was pulled into Luffy's grasp all the while screaming in terror at the site of Luffy's power. Luffy put him in a headlock and ran through the doors that led to the lower levels of the base. Watching them escape snapped Morgan out of his shock and his disposition became murderous.

"FIND HIM AND BRING HIM TO ME FOR EXECUTION!"

* * *

"Alright you bastard where are Zoro's swords?" Luffy demanded as he led Helmeppo through the marine base.

"I'll never tell you!"

Luffy pulled a pistol off of his gun belt with his free hand and pointed it at Helmeppo's head. "Now look I dislike killing people but in your case I'm willing to make a rare exception."

"It's in my room two doors down to our left! Just please don't shoot!"He begged as tears spilled freely from his eyes.

Just then three marines came around the corner and aimed their rifles at the two of them.

"Release the Lieutenants son or we'll fire!"

"Fair enough." Luffy said as he picked up Helmeppo and using his immense strength tossed the other boy into the marines which sent them all flying to the other end of the hall. Luffy used the opportunity to run to the room which had Zoro's swords.

He was surprised at how richly decorated the room was and how it was filled with weapons that were of the highest quality. Luffy quickly found Zoro's swords along a wall containing numerous swords that Helmeppo either bought of stole. Luffy grabbed the swords and shrouded the entire room in darkness and everything from the desk to display cases were sucked into the darkness.

"Might as well keep everything here, better in my hands then that bastards."

Just then loud noises from outside drew his attention and he ran over to the window to see what was happening.

"Looks like they've started having fun without me."

Luffy focused darkness to the bottom of his feet and jumped out the window.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Zoro Coby and Nami were cornered by Marines led by Axe hand Morgan himself who walked through the marine ranks hefting his massive axe arm on his shoulder.

"How interesting, I had thought that the boy was working alone but seeing Zoro free along with two strangers makes it obvious you're his accomplices." Morgan said as he glared at the three of them. "Even if you aren't by entering this execution courtyard you have committed a crime and will share the same punishment as the accused. Therefore as supreme commander of the base I sentence all of you to death. Prepare to fire men!"

All the marines aimed their rifles at the three of them.

' _Damn, if I had my swords this would be easy to handle.'_ Zoro thought as he tried to figure out a way out of this situation. His thoughts turned to the promise he made years ago to a friend. _'I can't die here. Not until I've accomplished my dream.'_

Nami had similar thoughts running through her head. _'How did it come to this? I've been so careful up until now but one day with Luffy and I'm about to die. If I die here the villagers will suffer Arlong's hatred without me there to free them…'_

' _I'm going to die, killed by the people who I aspired to be like.'_ Coby thought sadly.

"Open Fire!"

Before everyone's eyes Luffy landed in front of his friends and held both his hands in front of him darkness opened up on both of his palms.

"Absorption."

As the marines opened fire their bullets flew at the young boy but instead of hitting him they veered off course and flew right into the dark portals on his palms.

Morgan and the other marines started wide eyed as their target had apparently absorbed their bullets.

"I believe these belong to you guys." Luffy pointed his finger at them the same way a child might pretend that their hand was a gun. Bullets flew out of the tip of his finger as if it were a pistol, striking the rifles of several marines causing the guns to fly out of their hands.

Luffy quickly threw the three katana's over to Zoro who caught them and immediately placed one in his mouth and gave the other two practice swings.

Meanwhile the marines were regaining their bearings, many of them completely shocked at what they had seen. Morgan however regained his wits quicker than the others. "That brat must have eaten one of the Devil Fruits and gained an ability." His men seemed shocked at that revelation since most believed that the fruits were a myth and expressed fear about facing someone with a strange power. "It doesn't matter if bullets don't affect him. Draw your swords and cut him to pieces!"

All the marines drew their swords and charged at the group, their fear of their superior officer overshadowing their fear of a fruit user and famous swordsman.

Luffy was about to face off against the marines but Zoro stepped in front of him and cut him off. "Let me deal with this. I need to stretch my muscles."

All of the marines reached Zoro at the same time and simultaneously swung their swords at the pirate hunter but were stopped dead in their tracks when Zoro managed to block each of their swings with only his three swords. Not giving them time to recover Zoro pushed them away and delivered a vicious series of slashes that cleaved each of their swords in half leaving them half useless pieces of metal.

The marines backed off and cowered at such a show of skill.

"We can't beat them!"

"They're too skilled lieutenant!"

"We're all going to die!"

Morgan walked past his soldiers and prepared his axe hand for battle. "Must I do everything myself? As for all of you grab a gun and kill yourselves! I don't have any use for soldiers who can't follow orders!"

Much to everyone's surprise all the marines pulled out pistols and aimed them at their heads.

"I wouldn't bother following those orders, this guy isn't going to be your lieutenant much longer." Luffy summoned darkness around him and it quickly traveled over to the marines who stopped pointing their guns at their heads and instead were focusing on the darkness beneath their feet.

"Black hole."

The marines were swallowed up by the void and right after they were gone Luffy summoned the darkness back to him.

"Liberation!"

He summoned forth his darkness and the bodies of all the marines he had just absorbed spewed out of it, however he had kept the guns that they had been holding making it impossible for them to follow their captain's suicidal orders.

With the marines safe Luffy charged at Morgan who was in a battle stance. Luffy ran in with his fist reared and delivered a powerful punch which Morgan blocked with his axe arm. "People like you with no status have no right to oppose me, I am the Marine lieutenant Axe-Hand Morgan!" The man yelled delivering a vicious side swipe intended to cut off Luffy's head. The boy simply ducked under it but the strength of the swipe caused the nearby fences and walls of the execution yard to be cleaved in two.

Luffy saw Morgan preparing another strike and delivered a vicious punch to the man's chest knocking the air out of him. But the man quickly recovered and prepared another vicious swing with his axe arm.

Luffy drew his sabre and swung it to meet the axe mid swing and much to everyone's surprise the sword cut clean through the metal of the axe, and before anyone could react Luffy swung again with his sword and cleaved the rest of the axe off of Morgan's hand, ridding the man of his namesake.

"You Bastard! That arm was my pride and joy!" Morgan yelled as he looked at his now axeless arm. All that was left were sharp bits of wood and metal embedded in his arm.

Luffy chuckled. "You should be thanking me, I have no idea how you managed to use the bathroom with that stupid thing."

Morgan charged at Luffy intending to impale the boy on the bits of wood and metal that were still embedded in his arms stump. Luffy didn't move from his stationary position, he simply let out a tired sigh and quickly sheathed his sword. He then gathered up darkness into both of his hands and aimed them at the shocked lieutenant who was now defenseless without his axe.

"Gravity Barrage!"

Objects flew out of his open palms and into the unprepared Morgan's chest. Various things from barrels, cannon balls, debris, and even an anchor shot out of the darkness in his hands in a seemingly endless gravity propelled stream, striking Morgan full force. The man had raised his arms stump in font of his face and chest which was the only thing that saved his life. But every other part of him was hit wit numerous debris that sent him into the courtyard wall where he was quickly buried beneath a pile of rubble.

"When will I find someone who will actually gives me a challenge?" Luffy wondered but quickly shook those thoughts from his head. "No point in getting overconfident. Like Shanks said, Logia users who think their invincible have short lifespans.

Before Luffy could enjoy his victory a voice called out that made everyone pause.

"You better stop right now! Or Ill blow this kids brains out all over the courtyard!" Helmeppo called out as he pointed a gun at Coby's head.

Coby to his credit didn't show any signs of fear. "I don't want to be in your way Luffy so continue fighting. I'm not afraid of death!" he called out bravely.

"Shut up!" Helmeppo said as he waved his gun in a threatening manner.

"You heard him, he's not afraid of death!" Luffy called out. "You however should be very afraid of the girl standing behind you."

Helmeppo turned around and was immediately struck by a hardwood staff.

Nami delivered another vicious blow to the boy's chest, face, and groin in a vicious series of strikes that left him a beaten mess that laid on the ground unconscious "Don't go around threatening my friends." She muttered under her breath as she looked at the pitiful boy before her.

Luffy, Zoro, and Nami turned to the remaining marines.

"Anyone else?" Luffy asked as darkness seeped out of his body and coated the ground around him in a show of intimidation.

The Marines all looked at each other and began to cheer, dance and throw their hats into the air in jubilation much to the surprise of Luffy and the others.

"The Lieutenants gone!"

"We're free!"

"Life has meaning again!"

Seeing their confusion Coby decided to elaborate. "Don't you see? Everyone hated Morgan, even his own men!"

At this news everyone relaxed, but Zoro suddenly fell to his knees in exhaustion before finally collapsing on the ground.

"Zoro!" everyone yelled as they ran over to help him.

* * *

An hour later Luffy, Zoro, Nami and Coby were sitting around a table in Food Foo enjoying a nice meal compliments of the diner's owner.

"Ahh that's good, I almost starved to death." Zoro said as he finished off another huge plate of food.

"There's no way you could have lasted a whole month" Luffy said as he finished off his meat and turned to his dessert.

Zoro glared at his new captain. "How the hell have you managed to eat more than me?"

Luffy took a bite out of his cherry pie and shrugged. "I simply love food. I wish this pie had meat in it…"

Nami let out a tired sigh. "Let's just go out bounty hunting already, you promised me any treasure you found so hurry up. Time is money and I love money."

Coby chuckled at his companions strange attitudes. "Well I guess this is where we part ways. You guys taught me to follow my dreams even if it means I'll die. I can't thank you enough."

Just then the new marine commander walked into the restaurant and strode over to the table where the group was eating.

"I just wanted to inform you all that no charges will be filed against you for assaulting a marine base and its personnel. You all performed a great service for us by relieving Morgan of duty, he and his son are recovering in the hospital ward of our prison. Morgan sustained heavy injuries and almost died but it looks like he will pull through. He will be court marshaled once he has healed enough to stand trial. But I would like to understand who you are and what led to this whole series of events."

The group became instantly on edge except for Luffy who regarded the commander coolly. "I'm a bounty hunter and I came here to see if Zoro would like to team up for some tough bounties. I ended up punching Helmeppo when it was obvious he was a jerk and intended to unfairly execute Zoro. The the rest is history."

Luffy almost patted himself on the back. He was never good at lying and still wasn't great at it, however speaking in vague half-truths came easily and sounded believable coming from him.

The commander seemed to accept that but quickly pointed a finger at Nami and Coby. "What about those two?"

"Nami is my navigator and Coby is a boy I rescued from a group of pirates who were keeping him as a slave, he wanted to come here and join the marines."

"Hmmm Well that's good enough for me." The commander said happily. "Seeing as how you helped us out so much I was wondering if you required anything in return from us? Due to Morgan's tyranny we don't have much to offer you in terms of money but we will help in any way we are able."

"Well you can take Coby into the marines for one."

The commander nodded. "Usually people with any past with pirates willing or unwilling aren't allowed in, however exceptions can and have in the past been made. Ill emphasize his enslavement in his personnel report." He turned to the pink haired boy. "But I must warn you you'll have to work extra hard to prove your loyalty and strength to the marines."

"I promise!" Coby said bravely. "I'm a man whose dream it is to become a marine! I won't disappoint you!"

The commander nodded approvingly to the pink haired boy before turning to the others. "Is there anything else?" The commander asked.

"Well I could use some more weapons, I ended up using most of my bullets, powder, and cannon balls on you guys and Morgan. We are also in need of a bigger boat, the dinghy I have isn't big enough for more than two people."

The commander thought about the request for several seconds before answering. "I can allow you to take some supplies from our armory, but only a limited amount. I also might be able to help you with a ship. Please follow me."

The followed him until they found themselves in the marines armory, surrounded by swords, cannons, and all other manner of weapons.

"Take as much powder and shot as you need, we can be restocked within a weeks' time."

The trio took enough powder and bullets for themselves along with other oddities.

Nami grabbed several beautiful pistols obviously meant for a marine officer, Zoro settled for a pair of nice knives and several sharpening stones for his swords. Luffy simply took bullets and gunpowder but was stopped when he came up to something weird. "Hey marine commander what are these?" he asked gesturing to a wall.

"Those are sea stone weapons and sea stone handcuffs. They can cancel out a Devil Fruit users abilities but as you can see from the dust accumulated on them they haven't been used in decades. You're the first Devil Fruit user I've seen since I was assigned here. Most people in this sea believe the fruits to be a myth."

Nami called the commander over to see if the marines had any staff like weapons. The commander walked over to help Nami out which gave Luffy the time he needed.

He summoned forth his darkness and took as much of the sea stone as he could. He even sported several crates in the corner with the word 'Unrefined sea stone' on it. He absorbed them as well and quickly got the commanders attention once he was done with Nami to make sure he didn't notice.

"This will really help us out. You also said you could help us get a ship, is that true?"

"That's a bit more complicated." The commander said. "Weapons and such can easily go missing in requisitions but we keep perfect records of our ships. So I can't give you a marine ship, but I have something that might be just as good."

The group followed the commander to the Marines docking area where numerous ships were docked and being repaired or fitted out for sea. Eventually they reached the end of the dock where a small sized boat stood out from the rest of the ships due to its small size and lack of marine colors.

"This is called a gunboat a fast response combat ship." The commander began. "They require very little crew and are fast on the waters, made for scouting and harassing larger ships before sailing away. This one belong to a pirate fleet belonging to Don Krieg. We captured it a few weeks ago, we were going to scrap it for spare parts but I think it might be better in your hands. It has two front swivel guns and quarters large enough for four. It's not fancy but its better then a dinghy."

Luffy look at the ship and found it perfect for the time being. It was too small to be a proper pirate ship but it would be perfect for sailing around east blue looking for a crew.

"It's perfect."

* * *

After another day of enjoying the towns hospitality Luffy, Nami, and Zoro were sitting in their new ship and were preparing to disembark. The townspeople and the Marines had already thanked them and seen them off now it was just Coby saying his goodbyes.

"I can't thank you guys enough. I hope to see you all again someday, even though well end up being enemies since you intend to become a pirate."

"I guess we will. You better train up if you want to fight the future pirate king."

"Then I guess I'll have to become an admiral." Realizing what he just said Coby rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Never mind what I said, there I go speaking nonsense."

"Well If I'm going to be pirate king then you'd have to be an admiral to challenge me. So you'd better train hard to become an admiral strong enough to fight me on equal ground." Luffy said happily. "Id be embarrassed if anyone less than a admiral tried to arrest me when I'm pirate king."

Coby wanted to shed tears at how sincere Luffy's confidence in him was. "Alright, I promise Ill become the greatest admiral to ever live and then someday we'll meet again."

With that the trio set off while waving goodbyes to Coby and set off over the sea on their new ship. After drifting out of sight of the island the three of them sat around a small table on the ships deck and enjoyed a few cooling drinks while discussing what to do next.

"So Luffy, where to next? It better be a bounty that's rich with treasure." Nami said dreamily as she imagined the treasures she would be getting.

"It better be a tough bounty, I need to work out the kinks I got from being strapped to a post for over a week." Zoro said while taking a sip of some sake.

Luffy reached into his coat and put the bounty poster on the table. "I think this target will do, a high bounty of some renown and a known hoarder of treasure."

Nami and Zoro looked at the picture on the wanted poster and read the name.

 _Buggy "The Clown" 15,000,000 beli reward._

* * *

 **Authors Note**

I'm sorry that this chapter is so short but I didn't want this to drag on.

I hated writing this chapter, I made four versions of this chapter and this is the one I stuck with. I just find this arc a little boring and I want to freedom to get away from canon a bit. But don't worry folks things will start changing next chapter.

First off in regards to parings, I feel I need to address this because I received 13 messages asking about pairings. Simply put I'm just trying to tell the story and move the plot along to the grand line. But if you must know there will be multiple pairings.

At this point I'm not married to any pairings but I do wish to challenge myself to write a open relationship/harem with Luffy and multiple girls since I want to do it with in a convincing manner and class. A challenge to myself as a writer.

Also updates will become much more sporadic as chapters get longer and things become more complicated. I want to avoid this being a carbon copy of canon.

I want to thank you for all the reviews and I wish to thank those who took the time to leave reviews.

Thank you Johnny Spectre, Keeper of the Worlds, Fanfictionhunter, 22, Lightningblade49, MakubeDAKiddX, 125b, aldhfli, Awarenessbringer, jamestheghost10, Devlin Dracul, Zaralann, and nightmaster 000. Thank you all for taking the time to leave a review, they make me happy and keep me inspired.

Thanks for reading


	4. Clowns and the Void

**Disclaimer- I do not own One Piece**

* * *

After leaving the marine base behind Luffy, Nami, and Zoro found themselves sailing to their next destination in hopes of claiming the bounty of Buggy the clown. Currently Nami was reading a map while relaxing on the side of the ship, Zoro was taking a nap, and Luffy was enjoying himself by regularly turning the ships steering wheel in a dramatic fashion.

"Luffy could you stop turning that wheel? We are on course so turning it will only make this journey longer." Nami grumbled as she read the map of the local area to ensure they didn't receive any unpleasant navigational surprises.

"Sorry but turning this wheel makes me feel like a real pirate!" Luffy exclaimed happily as he steered the gunboat back on course.

Nami shook her head. "I can't believe you want to be a pirate! Pirates are evil monsters that destroy everything they touch."

"Then why are you one?"

That drew Nami's attention as she turned sharply at Luffy who was still steering the ship. Zoro woke up from his nap and with one eye open watched the exchange.

"I'm not a pirate." She growled her once neutral tone turning becoming sharp as she glared at her companion.

"Yes you are." He said nonchalantly as he met her gaze. "You travel the seas stealing from people, according to the law, you are a pirate."

Nami felt anger rising up in her and she found herself failing to keep her temper in check. "I only steal from pirates so it doesn't count!"

"Really? So you knew Alvida would rob a high class passenger ship and were lying in wait for her on it?" It was obviously a rhetorical question and it set Nami on the defensive.

"I see what you're doing here! Don't try to spin this, those rich bastards had more than they would ever need. I was simply…putting their money to a better cause." She replied defensively but her voice was filled with uncertainty.

Luffy shook his head. "Nami come on, you're basically a Jolly Roger and a bottle of rum short of being a pirate. You sail the seas, steal from others, and are obsessed with treasure."

"I'm not _obsessed_ with treasure…" She stated as she crossed her arms and looked away from the two. But even without seeing them she could feel their disbelieving gazes upon her. "Maybe I a little obsessed but that doesn't make me a pirate."

"Stop lying to us, but more importantly stop lying to yourself."

"You should stop talking about things you don't understand. Pirates destroy lives and are evil, that's something I'll never do!" She didn't want to start yelling but being compared to the people she hated most was making her aggravated.

"Don't go spouting the crap about good and evil." Luffy retorted, his tone wasn't angry but it had a slight edge to it. "Saying all pirates are evil is about as stupid as saying all marines are good. You can be on one side of the law or another but it doesn't affect whether you're a good person or a bad person."

"Now you're the one who's spouting crap." She replied, her anger taking hold of her once more. "You have no Idea what I've seen or what I've suffered."

"I've also suffered at the hands of pirates." He said, surprising his orange haired companion. "I came to admire pirates when a crew saved my life and defended my village from mountain bandits. But less than a year later a group of pirates captured and tortured me for hours to learn the location of some treasure. I learned the hard way that there are angels and demons on both sides."

Nami didn't like being lectured, much less by a person like Luffy. "Well I lost someone important to me to pirates, and that's something that can never be undone."

"I know the pain of losing someone as well, my brother was killed by a World Noble." He saw the looks of surprise on his companions face and continued. "You need to face reality, you need to come to terms with the fact that you're a pirate as well as a good person. You also need to realize that your hatred of pirates is quite literally self-defeating."

Nami didn't respond and simply looked at the ground unable to meet Luffy's eyes. Luffy let out a tired sigh and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Nami why don't you get some sleep? Zoro and I can steer this course easily enough. We will take first watch."

Nami didn't say anything she simply got up and walked down into the cabin area of the gunboat, leaving Luffy and Zoro alone.

"You're a mysterious one aren't ya?" Zoro observed as he poured himself another drink. "At first I thought you were a simple guy but there's more to you then meets the eyes."

"I don't enjoy talking about the past, I prefer to look towards the future." Luffy answered honestly. "But I can see how angry she is at pirates, it's an anger that makes you irrational and prone to bad decisions."

"Sounds like you're talking from experience."

"You could say that." Luffy set the ships course straight and pulled the sail to half canvas. "I allowed my anger to take over me once and a lot of people paid the price. It almost destroyed me…"

"I'm guessing this has to do with the World Noble who killed your brother?"

"Maybe."

"You want to talk about it?"

Luffy let out a dry laugh. "If you want me to talk about that then it's going to take more booze then I think either of us could afford buying."

Zoro chuckled a bit after hearing that. "Maybe one day well both get drunk enough for you to talk about it. But in the end I don't really care, the past isn't as important as the future. But there is one thing I want to ask you."

"What do you want to ask?"

In a flash Zoro had abandoned his drink and was running at Luffy at breakneck speed, drawing one of his swords and swung it at Luffy with all his strength.

Before the sword could strike him Luffy had drawn his sword and in a flash brought it up to block Zoro's swing. Both of them stood there swords crossed and pushing their strength and weight behind the blades and staring each other down.

Zoro smirked and backed off and sheathed his blade.

"What the hell was that for?" Luffy asked, his sword still pointed at the pirate hunter.

"I wanted to test you, I saw you use that sword in your fight with Morgan but I wasn't sure how skilled you were. Wanted to make sure it wasn't all for show, didn't think a Devil Fruit user would bother with swordplay."

Luffy sheathed his sword. "I promised a man that I wouldn't come to be reliant on my Devil Fruit ability. I've been training my body and mind endlessly since I was a child in preparation for the day I set sail to become the Pirate King."

"That's a lot of dedication for a promise."

"It's not just a promise. I didn't take training or even reading all that seriously at first." He admitted, in truth he had only skimmed Shanks books and he had focused mainly on training his body for the longest time. "But after I lost my brother, I swore I would never be weak again. I trained by body until it couldn't move, and I trained my mind until thinking no longer hurt."

"It's good to know I won't be sailing with an idiot." Zoro said with some relief as he walked back to his original spot and leaned against the ships rail. "Mind if I take a look at your sword? I don't think I've seen one like it before."

Luffy hesitated at first but eventually drew the sword from its sheath and handed it to Zoro who took it with extreme care.

Zoro looked it over with the eye of an expert. It was certainly unique for a naval sabre. The weapon possessed a strengthened blade that was made of a metal Zoro couldn't identify but it was a strange black metal that felt cold to the touch. It had a large handguard typical of its blade type which was gold plate and richly decorated with intricate runes.

"It's not the type of sword I usually use but even I'm tempted to try it out." Zoro said as he checked the blades edge and found it sharpened and well maintained. "Where on earth did you get something like this?"

"A man gave it to me so that I could fulfill a promise."

That bit surprised Zoro, it reminded him of a promise he made.

"He must have a lot of faith in you then."

He handed the sword back to Luffy who sheathed it carefully. There was no need to question further and the two of them fell into a comfortable silence as they navigated the ship and did their best to stay on course.

Luffy tried to shake the thoughts of his dead brother Sabo from his head but the day's events made the memories linger in his mind.

It was a day that would live in infamy within his life and the lives of all the people in the world. It was also the event that made him into the person he was today.

* * *

Ten Years Ago- Goa Kingdom

"No! You'll get yourselves killed trying to avenge Sabo!" Dadan yelled as she blocked Ace and Luffy's path. "There's nothing you can do and the two of you are already exhausted!"

Ace and Luffy knew she was right, the last day had been an exhausting one. After their brother Sabo had went back to his life of nobility they had been shanghaied into helping captain Bluejam move barrels around the Grey terminal. Much to the boys surprise the barrels turned out to be explosives meant to burn the entire area to the ground along with all of its residents.

During the chaos Bluejam tried to kill them for the treasure they had been collecting. Luckily Dadan had arrived on the scene to help them before things got out of hands. Between the three of them they managed to take down the pirates and thanks to Luffy's Devil Fruit power he was able to simply consume the fire with his darkness.

It was only after they managed to get to the safety of Dadan's hideout that one of her fellow bandits,a man by the name of Dogra, ran up to them and informed them that Sabo had been killed by a Celestial Dragon. Which is what led to the current situation of Ace wanting to extract vengeance and Luffy backing up his brother.

Ace was wrestling with Dadan while Luffy tried to run past her. She let go of Ace briefly to grab Luffy by his arm but the young boy simply turned around to meet her and shoved his palm onto her chest.

"Repulsion!"

Dadan was sent flying into some nearby bushes. Luffy had only used a small amount of force to avoid harming his guardian and gave him and Ace enough time to run past her.

The two brothers ran as fast as their young legs would carry them. Ace was leading Luffy through the woods as the young boy began questioning what they were really doing.

"Are we really going to kill the noble?" Luffy asked between breaths as he ran alongside his brother. He had been crying after hearing of Sabo's death but that sorrow was replaced by anger, however the thought of killing someone was not a pleasant one.

Ace let out an angry grunt. "Of course! World Nobles are scum that can get away with anything! If we don't avenge Sabo then no one will. He was our brother and they murdered him!" Ace had been angry before but nothing like this, he would have his revenge. "If you don't want to kill the noble that's fine, just watch my back. Also hand me your sword, I'll need it."

Luffy reached onto his back where Shank's sword was kept. It was too long for him to use properly and he knew Ace would need it more. He handed the sword to his brother and they continued on their journey to the Goa Kingdom.

Eventually they reached the kingdom and entered it easily enough. They traveled through the streets and when necessary rooftops to reach their destination. Despite not knowing where the noble was they had a good inkling, nobles would be around the palace and high town.

The closer they got to high town the more the streets became crowed, when they reached the gates to high town they discovered that it was blocked by guards and that only those of noble blood could enter. That didn't stop Ace or Luffy who knew every single backs street and secret entrance in the entire kingdom. They easily slipped through security and reached high town where the streets were crowded with men, women, and children of noble blood all trying to catch a glimpse of the visiting Celestial Dragon.

Ace and Luffy forced their way past the crowded street until they reached the end of Hightown where the royal palace was. They saw the King, Queen and their children welcoming the Celestial dragon and his family to their kingdom in an elaborate ceremony.

The area was populated by anyone of noble blood and the crowds cheered as the Celestial Dragon and his family walked on a large elevated walkway over to the king and his entourage of nobles.

"Saint Jalmack." The King greeted as he got down on one knee. "I welcome you to our kingdom. We cannot thank you enough for gracing us with your presence, it the greatest honor we have ever received."

"Indeed, I am quite generous to visit such a place." Jalmack muttered in a bored tone as he hopped off the back of a large slave he was using like a horse. He held out his right hand which held a large ring on his ring finger. The King obediantly kissed the ring, thus welcoming the man into his kingdom and showing his submission to the nobles power "Your kingdom is impressive for one built and inhabited by mere humans. It pales in comparison to Mariejois but I'm impressed with how clean and orderly it is."

"You are too kind great one." The King responded in a submissive tone. "I know all of this is nothing compared to what you are no doubt used to, but I pray you will find my hospitality and kingdom to your liking. Everything within this kingdom is at your disposal."

Jalmack was about to lead his wife and four children into the castle to rest after such a long journey and to escape the cheering crowds but the sound of twin screams stopped him.

All eyes turned and saw his two armored bodyguards fall to the ground, blood polling from under them. Two young boys stood above the guards and in the hands of the taller one a bloody sword was clutched.

"Which one of you is the scum that killed my brother?" Ace asked as he glared at the entourage of nobles. The crowds all screamed in outrage at the sight of such bloodshed caused by what was obviously a couple of street urchins, but none were angrier then the king.

"How dare you do such a thing in the presence of a Celestial Dragon?!" The king angrily exclaimed as he saw all of his preparations to make the welcoming ceremony perfect shatter before his eyes. "Guards kill these filthy urchins!"

The guards were about to carry out the order as they drew their swords but they were stopped by Saint Jalmack. "Let the urchin speak." He said in a neutral tone as he turned to address Ace. "Normally you would be killed for acting such a way in front of me. However I am in a good mood and am curious to know what your reasons are for such an unsightly display."

"You killed my brother!" repeated Ace in a deadly tone. "He was sailing a ship and you shot him in the harbor!"

Jalmack let out a dry chuckle which only added to Ace's fury. "I remember that. He dared get in my ships way so I killed him." He answered casually. "So if that scum was your brother then yes I did kill him, as a descendant of this worlds creators it is within my right to do anything I wish. Like this." He pulled a gold plated pistol from his belt and in a flash brought it up and shot Ace with it. Ace tried to dodge the bullet but it managed to embed itself in his shoulder causing the boy to fall forward onto the ground.

"Ace!" Luffy yelled as he tried to run over and help his brother but he was stopped by one of Jalmack's armored guards who held the boy down. Luffy struggled against the knights plated hands but could do nothing.

"You bastard!" Ace yelled as he tried to grasp the sabre Luffy had given him. Saint Jalmack simply walked up and picked the sword up and inspected it.

"High quality, no doubt stolen. Such a fine blade is wasted on you, but I think it will be perfect for ending the life of a pathetic human that thought he could talk down to a God." He said as he admired the sword. He turned to the King and nobles who were watching him. "I want both of these children's heads put on a spike outside this castles gates so that this entire kingdom will know the penalty of defying me."

"Of course, anything for a Celestial Dragon." The King agreed along with his entourage who echoed his sentiments. The crowd began to cheer for Jalmack and encouraged his actions.

"Kill that lowborn scum!"

"That's what they get for defying their betters!"

"They should have burned with all the other trash!"

"Make sure the younger one is watching. I want him to watch me kill the older one, as a lesson to what happens to those who defy me." He gripped the sword in his hands and looked ready to deliver a deathblow to the boy who was still clutching his shoulder in pain.

Ace wanted to get up and fight back but his shoulder was bleeding and it felt like the bullet had broken bones, combined with his exhaustion from the previous day he was helpless. _'It's my hotheadedness that got us into this mess. Forgive me Luffy.'_ He thought as he waiting for the inevitable.

Luffy on the other hand was struggling endlessly against the knight that held him. He couldn't bear the sight of a man about to kill his only remaining brother with the sword Shanks had given him. "Let me go you bastards!" he yelled as he continued his struggling. He managed to wrest himself free for a moment but the knight simply pinned him to the ground. He tried to summon his devil fruit power but he was exhausted from the previous day's events and couldn't focus enough to summon forth the darkness.

He was forced to watch as the World Noble prepared to strike Ace down. He had failed, he had failed his brothers and Shanks. He would never be Pirate King or find one piece if he died here.

' _If you share a drink you can become brothers. We might not be on the same ship when we become pirates but this will bind us together as brothers! No matter where we are or what we do nothing can break this bond!'_

Luffy remembered those words that Ace had spoken to him. He had believed them at the time but in a span of a single day the bond they had created would be broken by death.

' _This sword is my most precious possession. It is my gift to you, one day when you become a great pirate you'll return it to me.'_

His promise to Shanks would go unfulfilled.

" _I can't save my brother and I can't keep my promise to Shanks…I'm so useless…"_ he whispered to himself as he closed his eyes, he couldn't bear to watch Ace die. He felt tears about to flow as he thought about losing everything.

 _" **Don't cry."**_

 _The world froze as Luffy heard a dark voice speak. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time._

 _" **What a sad hand fate has dealt you. One brother dead and another one about to slip his mortal coil...I think we can do better."**_

 _"Who's talking, what's going on?"_

 _" **Is this how you want it all to end? Do you want to simply sit by as your brother is beheaded by a nobleman? Do you want to watch as your brother's life slips away as idiots cheer on and congratulate his murderer?**_

 _"No, but I don't know what to do."_

 _" **Destroy everything, erase everything that hurts you."  
**_

 _"How?"_

 _He could sense amusement coming from the voice as it answered._

 _ **"The power within you. Let it run free and consume everything in its path. Show these nobles what true power is and remind them of the true meaning of fear."** The voice was growing stronger and more passionate **"Send all of them screaming into the void!"**_

Luffy felt his energy return and his resolve strengthened. He felt the power within him bubbling, begging for release. Ever since he had eaten his Devil Fruit he had felt powerful but the energy that coursed through him now was unlike anything he had ever felt before.

It made him feel like a God.

He let all of the power out, he screamed as the darkness erupted from his body and spread out everywhere. It spread like a billowing dark cloud throughout every district of the kingdom and through every street and back alley.

"What the hell is this!?" Saint Jalmack screamed in fear as he watched the darkness surround him.

The darkness consumed everything, it devoured people, plants, animals, entire buildings and the very foundation of the kingdoms walls sank into the darkness until there was nothing left. Ace watched as the castle that stood at the center of the kingdom sank into the darkness, walls that had stood for hundreds of years crumbled, and all the people in the crowds who had once been cheering began screaming in agony and despair as darkness consumed them.

A few seconds later silence reigned as everyone had been devoured by the void.

Eventually there was nothing left but a horrible cloud of darkness that swished everywhere like a typhoon, the streets that had once been teeming with life were completely empty. Several seconds passed and just as quickly as everything had been sucked in, it was all shot out of the darkness into the air. Rubble, wood, and bodies flew everywhere and landed in random heaps covering the once pristine kingdom in rubble until the entire place looked like a giant mound of assorted debris, similar to the grey terminal.

Luffy didn't even regard what he had done, his body moved on its own and brought him face to face with his one who had killed one of his brothers and attempted to take the life of another. His eyes were empty and dark as he turned his gaze to Saint Jalmack who had been spared since he was standing close to Ace. Luffy's brother was shaking as he watched his little brother stare at the World Noble with eyes that lacked any of the warm innocence they usually possessed.

" **Dark Grasp."**

The sword flew out of Jalmack's hand and into Luffy's. Despite the swords size Luffy wielded it easily and he prepared to strike Jalmack down by positioning the blade right at the mans chest in front of his heart. The world noble could only stare in fear at the boy who was radiating darkness and killing intent.

"What are you?"

Luffy stared at him with eyes as black as night.

 _"_ ** _I am the void."_ **

He rammed his sword through the fat noble's chest, despite the boy's size the sword slid easily through the man's torso and stabbing straight through his heart. The man collapsed onto the ground in a lifeless heap, blood pooling beneath him.

Luffy's eyes suddenly became clear as he regained his sense and fell to his knees. Ace overcame his pain and fear and crawled over to his brother and tried to help him.

"Luffy…" He said as he put his hand on his brother's shoulder. Luffy turned to meet Ace's gaze, his eyes spewing forth an endless stream of tears.

"Ace…" Luffy looked around and saw the endless destruction. Streets that had once been full of people were now full of rubble and dead bodies. "What have I done?"

* * *

Luffy shook the memories from his head. The events of that day had changed him, Dadan had managed to find the two boys an hour later. Both of them clutching each other at the center of the cities ruins.

From that day forward he trained his Devil Fruit ability to make sure he never lost control of it again, and made sure to not rely on the power it gave him to a large degree. He promised himself he would never cause that sort of destruction once more, the memories of that day haunted him. He had gotten his revenge, but a lot of innocent people paid the price.

The Goa Kingdom Massacre

That's what the papers had called the incident. A incident that saw the deaths of a family of Celestial Dragons as well as the Goa Kingdoms entire population. The only survivors had been the poor people who had been kicked out of the city for the Celestial Dragons visit. Officially the destruction of the kingdom was blamed on the revolutionary army, apparently one of the ships belonging to the army had been nearby.

But Luffy knew the truth.

The deaths of thousands of men, women and children were caused by him. Their blood was on his hands. He had fallen into absolute despair after that incident and it took his brother Ace chewing him out to set him right.

 _"You didn't do it intentionally! They were going to kill us and they would have succeeded if it wasn't for you. If anything it's my fault, I'm the one who dragged you along and because of that this is all my responsibility!"_

The words had helped, but he still felt the weight of his action intentional or not. But he refused to give into despair. He still had no idea what had happened that night, such as the voice that spoke to him and the way he lost control of himself. ' _I don't have the luxury of feeling sorry for myself, I have promises to keep. All I can do is look towards the future and keep going forward, looking backwards won't do me any good.'_

He sat down on deck and watched the ships sails to make sure that they stood on course. Several hours passed and Nami walked out from the ships sleeping quarters looking far better from what she was earlier.

"Feel better?" Luffy asked as he adjusted the ship as it was being drawn off course by a troublesome current.

"Yes."

"Did you think about what I said?"

"Yes."

"And?"

Nami glared at Luffy. "Some things you say aren't complete bullshit. Maybe you are right and there are some good pirates. But you can't deny that many of them are scum that simply want to murder and destroy everything in their path."

"Fair enough."

Nami pulled out the wanted poster for their next target, Buggy the clown. From the information on the info section of the poster Buggy was a stereotypical pirate obsessed with stealing all forms of treasure. Something she was looking forward to since her deal with Luffy meant she got to keep any treasure from any bounties he brought in.

"So are we taking this guy in dead or alive?" Zoro asked as he peered over Nami's shoulder to read the wanted poster and memorized the identity of his prey.

"Alive, I actually have some interesting plans regarding this clown."

"Plans?"

Any further questioning was cut off when Zoro noticed an object on the horizon. "We got an enemy ship off starboard!" Zoro drew his swords and prepared for battle. "Pirates by the looks of it and it has Buggy's jolly roger."

Luffy looked over and saw the ship approaching fast and frowned. He was hoping for an actually battle but it was a tiny ship smaller than the gunboat and had three ridiculous looking pirates in it. They closed the distance quickly using their boats light weight, large sail, and oars to increase their speed. They pulled up alongside the gunboat.

"We're the Buggy pirates surrender your treasures or die!" The Leader yelled as the three of them jumped up on deck.

Thirty seconds later they were all tied up on the vessels deck.

"Please spare us! We didn't know you guys were professional bounty hunters! Were innocents, shanghaied into joining up with Buggy!" The leader pleaded pitifully as the other two voiced their agreements.

"Just be quiet, we have treasure to divvy up." Nami said walking over to the chest they had found on the enemies boat. "Not bad for such weaklings." Nami analyzed the gold, silver, and other valuables with an experienced eye. "Remember I get half of all the treasure you find when hunting bounties." She reminded him happily as she tried on a piece of jewelry.

"I said fair share of treasure. Since there are three of us that means a third, all hands have a fair share in any treasure found." Nami looked like she was about to protest but Luffy beat her to it. "Don't be that way Nami you agreed to a fair share which is one third since we have three people. But since this is the first treasure that we've found I'll give up my share in the interest of our new partnership. However I do want a couple of trinkets from this chest if you'll allow it."

"Fine but it has to be approved by me before you can keep it."

Luffy reached into the chest and pulled out a large black compass with gold engravings, a gold pocket watch, and a golden coin with a hole drilled through the top and with a piece of thick cord going through it to be worn around ones neck. Nami analyzed them and found them valuable but not so much that she would actively protest. She allowed Luffy his prizes while her and Zoro divided the chest of treasure amongst themselves.

Zoro focused on coins and other oddities that would be easy to exchange for food and drink while Nami focused on jewelry and gemstones with high return value.

Luffy added his new acquisitions to his character. Placing the compass on his belt, his pocket watch in one of his coats pockets and placing the amulet around his neck. He walked over to the side of the boat and gazed at his reflection in the water.

"Much more like a pirate." He commented to himself. "But there's something missing…"

He stared at his reflection for a long time trying to ponder what was missing. He had his coat, sabre, pistols, everything to be a pirate but something was still missing. He ran a hand through his hair and it finally came to him. "A hat, I'm still missing a hat. Even Shanks wore a straw hat. Where could I buy a hat?"

Seeing his companions divvying up treasure Luffy walked over to the tied up Buggy pirates. "So I've heard that Buggy was raiding the shipping lanes in this area. I need to have a conversation with him so I would be most indebted to you all if you would direct to Buggy's whereabouts."

"You want to take on captain Buggy?" The three looked at Luffy for several seconds before they began to laugh uncontrollably. "Bwahahahahaha don't be stupid! He's one of the strongest men around and has the power of a devil fruit! You lot would be killed in-" They were silenced by a light punch from Luffy.

"Your captain isn't the only person around here who has eaten a devil fruit." Luffy summoned a cloud of darkness around himself which caused Buggy's men to shake in fear as if they were staring down the sea devil himself. "Also I don't intend to kill him or take his bounty so long as he cooperates with me."

That drew surprised looks from not just the pirates but from Zoro and Nami who looked up from their treasure in surprise.

"What do you mean we aren't going after his bounty?" Nami got up and stomped over to Luffy angrily. "Buggy is a terrible pirate that pillages and steals from innocent people! He's exactly the type of pirate we should be going after." She stabbed an accusatory finger into Luffy's chest.

"Buggy is an old acquaintance of the pirate that saved my life so I know a thing or two about him. I believe I can bargain with him. Besides he is much more valuable alive, he travelled the grand line and lived to tell about it which makes him more valuable to me alive rather than being imprisoned."

Nami hated to admit it but those were good reasons. "Fine, but I still don't like it." She said turning back to the treasure.

Luffy turned to the three imprisoned pirates.

"Now then are you guys going to tell us where Buggy is? Because if you won't tell me I'll have to ask Zoro to convince you to give me the information I want, and he is not as patient as I am."

All three turned to Zoro was grinning like a maniac and drawing his three swords. They cowered in fear and immediately did as they were bid. "We can take you to him. He's taken over a small harbor village by the name of Orange town. We know a way to get you on the island without him being able to shoot you down with one of his cannons."

* * *

True to their word they Buggy's pirates navigated the trio to the far edge of the island. Buggy had evicted the villagers and forced them to live is a shelter just outside the village which had once served as a small port for fishing ships.

The group pulled into port and were welcomed with some caution as the villagers were at first afraid that they were more pirates. But when they explained that they were going after Buggy and had even captured some of his men they were welcomed in like heroes.

Buggy's men were thrown into a makeshift prison while Luffy Zoro and Nami had a meeting with the village chief, a man by the name of Boodle. Currently they were all sitting around a small table as Luffy explained his plan.

"My plan is to put Buggy in a position he can't ethically refuse." Luffy said as he took a bite out of a piece of meat that was laying on the table alongside numerous other food items the villagers had been kind enough to cook for their visitors.

Boodle let out a humorless laugh at the boy's statement. "That monster has no ethics, he came into this town, took it over and has been looting it for anything valuable and using it as a staging point to attack other places."

"That's only half true. Pirates consider few things sacred but there are some rules even they must obey. There is the pirate code."

"Pirate code?" Echoed everyone in the room, looks of confusion etched on their faces.

"Since before the Golden age of piracy, the pirate code has guided most pirate crews. It varied from ship to ship but every major pirate crew has one. I know Buggy served alongside Shanks who told me that their ship had a code that they had to obey, so I know Buggy has to obey it in one form or another."

"So how does this code help us?" Boodle asked curiously as he stroked his chin in thought.

"Despite the fact that the code varies from ship to ship there are several universal rules. Things such as the Davy Back Fight are considered fairly sacred traditions amongst pirates. The one we will use is the rule of parley. If a pirate demands to parley they cannot be harmed and must be heard out. This is how I will get close to Buggy and begin negotiations for this villages release and securing his aid."

"And if he doesn't listen?" Nami asked not liking this plan in the least bit since it had a million ways it could go wrong.

"He will listen, and if he doesn't then we simply kick his ass. But I intend to challenge him in a way that if he refuses he will look like a fool in front of his entire crew, something I doubt he would do."

The chief nodded. "Alright fine, I'll go with you when you issue the challenge. It's my village and you'll need me to guide you to where he is camped out."

"Perfect." Luffy said as he finished his food. "One more thing, I need a large piece of black cloth for a flag and the help of someone who is really good at sewing in designs. In order for parley to apply the challenge must be issued by a fellow pirate."

"Do you really think you can negotiate with him? He isn't the most reasonable of men." Boodle pointed out as he still had doubts about this entire idea.

"As long as nobody mentions his nose we should be fine."

* * *

Buggy the clown was having the time of his life. He was situated in the town's central building while he and his men were having a party to celebrate another successful treasure hunt. He was situated in a large chair as he watched his two lieutenants dancing around doing their parlor tricks while his men drank, ate, and sang happily.

With this hunt finished they were ready to enter the grand line. Buggy felt a wave of nostalgia overcome him as he thought about the grand line, it had been years since he travelled across those treacherous seas, while he didn't like the idea of added risk he knew it was where most of the worlds treasure was located.

He broken from his fantasies of gold and jewels by the yelling of one of his men.

"Captain Buggy we have a group of people approaching! One of them appears to be the village chief!"

Buggy let out an annoyed sigh. "Damn old man can't leave well enough alone! I guess we'll have to deal with this the hard way." Buggy got up and walked to the edge of the building and saw several figures standing near the bottom one was the village chief as his crewmember had said but the others he didn't recognize.

"Who dares enter the territory of Buggy the clown uninvited?" One of Buggy's men demanded while aiming a cannon emplacement they had set up at the intruders.

"Captain Monkey D. Luffy here to make terms!" Luffy yelled while waving at the strange group of people perched on top of the building.

Buggy walked forward and decided to speak for himself. "And who are you to demand terms? I have a strong crew and numerous weapons pointed at you, you are in no place to demand anything much less negotiate."

"I issue parley as a fellow pirate captain you must allow me safe conduct in and out of your base. The code is quite clear on negotiations."

Buggy felt his heart stop upon hearing those words. It had been years since he had heard those words. Most pirates in the golden age of piracy preferred cannons to negotiating. His first instinct was to laugh and blow the intruders to kingdom come but a memory popped into his head.

* * *

23 years ago- Grand line

"Captain why are you letting Whitebeard come on board? He is an enemy!" Buggy yelled at his captain.

"I don't normally agree with Buggy but he is right. This has to be a trap! He's the enemy, we shouldn't be talking with him or allowing him on the ship!" Shanks agreed.

Roger turned to them and gave them a look that silenced them. His very presence made them stay silent as he explained his reasons.

"Whitebeard has demanded a parley, therefore none of you are to lay a hand upon him so long as he is a guest aboard this vessel." He ordered in a tone that showed there was no room for argument. "I don't care what kind of pirates you two choose to become when this journey is over, but no matter what type of pirate you are you can't hope to cross the seas without rules! This is the code we have chosen to follow and we will stick to it no matter how hard it is to obey. A man is only as good as his word, if you don't hold to your principles when they are being tested then they aren't principles at all."

* * *

Buggy shook that memory from his head. He had never really kept a strong code amongst his crew and he had little need of it since no one challenged his rule on his ship. As much as he wanted to blow these people away he couldn't help but feel Captain Rogers's disapproval.

Luckily he thought of a loophole.

"In order for parley to apply you must be a fellow pirate! I've never heard of any of you and I don't see a Jolly Roger so therefore the code doesn't apply to this situation." Buggy explained happily as he patted himself on the back for remembering that little detail.

"Show them our flag." Luffy ordered and Boodle unfurled a black flag and held it in front of him. It was a skull crossed by two bones, a completely generic design but it still counted as a jolly roger.

"Bwahahaha as if we care about that!" One of Buggy's men said as he aimed the cannon and prepared to fire.

"Did I order you to fire?!" Buggy questioned angrily causing his men to back off.

"N-n-no captain but we figured…"

"Well don't figure anything! If these bastards want to parley then fine." Buggy turned to the group. "Captain Monkey D. Luffy I accept your request for parley and guarantee you safe conduct in and out of this area. But I warn you I'm not a man who likes having his time wasted."

' _Can't believe I'm going through with this…I guess Captain Rogers teachings ended up rubbing off on me…'_ Buggy thought as he ordered his men around to prepare the area for the parley. If he was going to go through with this damn thing he planned on doing it right, the same way Roger would have done.

Luffy and his group were led up to the top floor of the building and soon came face to face with the infamous Captain Buggy. He was sitting on one side of a table with his two officers on his left and right. On the opposite side of the table were four seats intend for the Luffy and his companions. They sat themselves down and prepared for the negotiations.

Buggy decided to get things started. "You already know who I am so let's hurry up and get introductions out of the way. To my left is my flashy first mate Mohji and to my right is flashy commander Cabaji, both are officers who serve under me. Now who are you lot?"

"Monkey D. Luffy captain of this crew."

"Roronoa Zoro, former Pirate hunter now serving under Luffy." The Buggy pirate crew grew uneasy upon hearing that a man with such a bloody reputation was in their presence but Buggy and his officers showed no reaction.

"Nami, I'm just a navigator helping these idiots. I'm not a pirate."

"And you know who I am, Boodle the mayor of this town."

With the introductions out of the way Buggy waved one of his men over who promptly brought forth saucers full of sake and set one in front of everyone at the table. "If we're going to have a parley we might as well stand on ritual. With this drink negotiations begin and anyone who breaks the peace of this negotiation will be in violation of parley and will bring the wrath of the sea devil upon them."

Everyone at the table drank their offered sake. Food was quickly served by Buggy's men. Most of the people at the table didn't eat much choosing to nibble on a small bit of food to avoid being rude. Except for Luffy who helped himself and who ate enough to make up for the others.

While he didn't eat much Zoro began to down alcohol as quickly as the pirates serving them could pour it.

"Alright boy you went to the trouble of setting up this meeting so let's hear what you have to say." Buggy said as he took a drink of his sake.

"First I want to say it's good to finally see you in person. Shanks talked about you a few times before he left my village and it's good to put a face to the person he described."

That bit surprised Buggy and his eyes studied the boy and saw he wasn't lying. "You knew Shanks huh? How is that bastard doing? I haven't seen him since our captain was executed and we parted ways at Loguetown."

"I saw him back when I was a kid almost a decade ago. But he was doing great at the time. Have you heard of him becoming a ruler in the new world?" Luffy asked casually, he had been surprised to learn about Shanks apparent fame. But when he started reading newspapers he couldn't help but hear about how Shanks was traveling the seas as an apparent emperor.

Buggy took another deep drink and tried to swallow his jealousy at his old rival's fame and fortune. "Yeah I've heard about that, for all his faults that guy was always tough. If he had his priorities set on treasure instead of partying all the damn time he would be Pirate King. Not that any of that matters I still have a grudge against that man."

Buggy explained his past with Shanks and how Shanks had ruined his chances for riches by making him eat a devil fruit and lose his treasure map.

Luffy then told an abridged version of how Shanks had been making voyages around his village and how Shanks had saved his life. He left out the part about his devil fruit since he didn't want Buggy knowing about his ability.

While Luffy and Buggy talked casually about Shanks everyone at the table were filled with awe. The name of Red haired Shanks was famous across the world and to hear that Buggy was an old rival of such a man was truly shocking. The only ones who didn't seem surprised were Buggy's officers who were well aware of their captains past.

"I seem to remember him saying that he saved your life once."

"As I said earlier it came at the cost of a treasure map and numerous other things. To be honest I'd rather not talk about Shanks. He was like a brother to me, a really irritating and infuriating brother who made it a point to piss me off all the time…" Buggy drifted off and began to feel sad. As much as was angry at Shanks there were times he wished things could be like they were. The two of them serving under Gold Roger, fighting enemies in the New World and arguing about everything under the sun. ' _When did I become an old man reminiscing about times past?'_ He wondered to himself as his thoughts dirfted to his old crew.

He shook those thoughts from his head quickly and turned back to his present situation. "As much as I enjoy talking about the past we need to get down to business." Buggy leaned forward and looked at Luffy intently. "Why is it that you've come here and demanded parley?"

"I want several things." Luffy wiped his mouth as he prepared to phrase his words carefully. "I plan on becoming the next pirate king and for that I need money and a crew. So I came here with the intention of recruiting you into my crew, and for you to return everything you've stolen from this town."

Buggy let out a loud laugh that all of his crew soon joined in. "Gyahahahaha oh that's good kid. I'll give you credit you've got some guts and some steel in your spine along with ambition. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to deny that proposal. But let me make you a flashy counter offer. You guys join my crew and I'll leave this village in peace, I could use some kids like you on my journey through the grand line. I'll even make you officers."

A tense silence reigned over the festivities until it was broken by Luffy. "Well it seems we are at a stalemate. I want you to join my crew….or else, and you want me to join your crew…or else."

"That seems to be how it is, refuse my flashy offer and things are going to go south once this parley is over." Buggy agreed as he sat back in his chair as confident as could be.

Luffy couldn't help but smile, Buggy was playing into his hands perfectly. "Well I think it best if we settle this like true captains. I challenge you Buggy the clown to a duel tomorrow at noon in the town square to settle this stalemate. If I win, you will give this town all of its money back and rebuild everything you've destroyed as well as join my crew without complaint and obey me as lawful captain."

"And if I win?" Buggy asked as he soaked in the young boys words.

"Then me and my crew will serve under you and acknowledge you as lawful captain and serve under you faithfully as you sail through the grand line."

Luffy's companions were most alarmed by this proposal and Zoro was the first to protest.

"Oi leave me out of this! I didn't join up with you just so that I could end up serving under another man!"

"This wasn't part of our agreement! I only agreed to be navigator temporarily!" Nami echoed as she thought about the consequences of this deal if Arlong got wind of it.

Boodle stayed silent since both outcomes seemed to have Buggy leaving the village but even he was astounded by Luffy's brashness.

Buggy rolled over the boy's proposal in his head. Having Zoro on his crew would be a major trump card, and Luffy himself was probably as strong as Zoro if he was the captain. However the Idea of serving under a child half his age didn't sit well with the clown. "Not a bad proposal but I have the most to lose here, I have a larger crew then yours as well as a bunch of treasure that would be lost in the process. You kids might be good but I'm not willing to risk everything I've built just so I can add you to my crew."

"Sounds like you're afraid you'll lose."

Buggy's previous calm demeanor shifted as he stared Luffy down. "Watch what you say boy. I'm not some schoolyard bully who responds to taunts like that. I've lived this long as a pirate because I don't take a risk unless the rewards are great enough. I won't agree to a duel just because you insult me."

Seeing he need to change his approach Luffy switched tactics. "I have a good deal of treasure to sweeten the deal, if you win you get all the treasure and money I've collected throughout my life." He offered in hopes that the clown would take the bait.

Luckily Luffy managed to hit the nail right on the had many weaknesses but treasure was the biggest one of all. A large grin appeared on his face as he imagined the treasure he could acquire. "How much treasure are we talking here?"

"Fifty million beli from my bounty hunting and at least eight large bags of treasure, most of it from the Goa Kingdom." Five of the bags he had from before he even set out on his pirate journey. Sabo and Ace had decided the safest place to hide the treasure they had been collecting was inside Luffy's storage areas that he could create with his darkness. After Sabo's death Ace had refused to even touch the treasure leaving all of it with Luffy.

Buggy's eyes turned into beli symbols as he thought about all that money and gold. The Goa Kingdom was once the richest place in the East Blue, and treasure from there was of the highest quality. "Alright captain Monkey D. Luffy. I agree to your flashy challenge. If you win, I will submit to you and my crew will be at your command and acknowledge you as captain as well as give to you all that is ours. But If I win you and your companions will join my crew and all that is yours will belong to me."

Buggy reached his hand out which Luffy took and they shook on it, a pact was made.

"Noon tomorrow in the town square. We settle this like men. With this agreement the parley is over." Luffy turned around and left the party with his companions trailing behind him.

* * *

"Imbecile you're risking everything!" Nami stomped around the room the chief had given them for the night and let out all her rage. "You're risking yourself, Zoro, and me! I'm not even a member of your crew, we're just business partners but you're wrapping me up in all kinds of deals without my consent!"

"You don't think I can win?" Luffy asked calmly as he sat at a table and reclined in a chair.

Nami calmed down enough to glare at him and speak in a more even tone. "You might be strong but Buggy is a big bounty which means he is a lot stronger than most men. The average bounty here is three million, Buggy is worth fifteen million."

"If you want to run away I won't stop you but the die is cast. If I can't beat this guy then there's no way I can ever be someone worthy of the title of captain much less pirate king. Besides with this deal I will win all his treasure and it is will be ours to split up…after we use it to repair the village."

Nami's anger dissipated at the thought of treasure, sure rebuilding the village would take a fair chunk out of it but a man like Buggy would have enough of the stuff to still make this a profitable venture. She shook the thoughts of money from her head and turned to Zoro. "You have anything to say about this? It's your future on the line here as well."

Zoro shook his head. "If he can't win against the clown then there's no point in me following him is there? Besides even if I did end up under Buggy's command there are ways to get out of it. Mutiny or even an 'accident' could happen."

With that there was nothing left to say and all three went to bed and prepared for the battle that was coming.

* * *

At noon the next day the two sides met in the town square. Both sides prepared for what was to come. Luffy and Buggy stood across from each other. The town square was a large open place that was empty at the moment due to the lack of vendors or stalls that would normally be set up.

Two groups of spectators were gather, Buggy's crew on one side cheering their captain on and on the other Nami, Zoro, Boodle, and several other brave townsfolk who were willing to risk leaving the shelter to watch the fight that would determine their towns future.

Luffy stood across from Buggy and was stretching out his limbs in order to limber up before the fight. Buggy on the other hand was standing across from him with his arms crossed looking cocky.

"Ready to join my crew boy?" Buggy asked as he watched Luffy stretch.

Luffy smiled. "We'll soon be part of the same crew Buggy but I'm going to be the captain."

Mohji came forward riding his giant pet lion Richie which was three times larger than an average lion and had golden fur and a red mane. He moved alongside the two combatants.

"The rules of this battle are simple, both sides shall fight until one side surrenders, or is rendered unconscious and unable to fight…or dead." Mohji raised his arm up and brought it down quickly.

"Begin!"

Luffy drew his sword and got into a battle stance while Buggy simply stood still and waited for the boy to make the first move.

Luffy had heard from the men he captured on the ship that Buggy was a devil fruit user which meant he had to be careful. Devil fruits were very varied so the man across from him could have any ability imaginable. It was tempting to barrage the clown with rubble or cannonballs with his own devil fruit ability but he decided against it. Buggy didn't know he was a devil fruit user and he intended to keep it that was until he saw what Buggy was capable of.

Deciding to play things by ear Luffy charged at Buggy and used his sword to deliver a strike to the clowns left side. The clown let out a scream and fell to the ground.

' _That was too easy, he wouldn't be a captain of a crew if he was weak._ ' Luffy thought as he watched the clown lay on the ground. He heard the sound of something flying through the air behind him and quickly turned around and only just managed to block a strike from a blade that was being carried by a disembodied hand.

Luffy heard another sound coming from behind him and managed to get out of the way of another hand carrying a blade but not before it cut him on the shoulder, drawing blood. Luffy performed a large back flip that took him to one corner of the courtyard to give him breathing room and analyze the situation.

Buggy drew himself off of the ground, laughing as he did so. "Gyahahaha that's right kid you can't cut me up because I ate the Chop Chop Fruit, I'm a sectioned man!" To demonstrate this he separated all his body parts and they began to fly around in a confusing whirlwind. "Do you see now boy? There's no hope of you winning, give up now and join my crew."

"That is kind of cool." Admitted Luffy was he raised both his hands in front of him in a stance that had both his palms facing Buggy. "But mine is cooler."

"Gravity Barrage!"

Darkness appeared on the palms of his hands and several cannonballs shot out of them and headed straight for Buggy who had reassembled himself again. The clown's eyes widened but he quickly regained his senses.

"Emergency Escape!"

Buggy's body parts separated and flew away from his main body quickly enough to dodge the cannonballs which flew past him and struck a building causing it to collapse.

' _Crap I have to be careful, collateral damage is a real possibility here.'_ Luffy thought to himself as he thought of ways to avoid damaging the town.

"You bastard! You ate a Devil Fruit as well?!" Buggy yelled angrily as he pieced himself back together. "You didn't mention that before we made this deal!"

"Whether I had devil fruit abilities or not were never an aspect of this duel." Luffy channeled darkness all around himself. "But yes I did eat a devil fruit, the Dark Dark Fruit, I'm a man of darkness."

' _A logia?'_ Buggy thought as he ran through plans in his head, logia's were powerful but he knew they had weaknesses _. 'I managed to graze him before, so he can't turn into his element therefore I have to press the attack.'_

"Knife Cannon!" Buggy yelled as he launched both his fists at Luffy in each one several sharp daggers were clenched between its fingers.

Luffy side stepped both fists, he knew he could end this fight in a second. His ability to cancel out another devil fruit user's powers would end Buggy in an instant. However the thought of taking away Buggy's devil fruit ability while he was sectioned off could turn horrifying, the idea of the clowns blood and bones spewing everywhere came to mind.

He chose a more merciful option. _'A single attack should be enough to immobilize him and get him with my darkness.'_

"Black Sword Style: Gravity sword!" Luffy's sword became enveloped in darkness turning the already black metal even darker as dark smoke rose from the blade.

Luffy concntrated as he gathered darknessa round the blade, preparing his next attack. "Black Sword Style: Black Moon Slash! **"** He slashed the air in front of him with all hi strength. From his blade a slash in the shape of a crescent moon constructed out of darkness flew at Buggy at high speed..

While Buggy was afraid of many things, but there was one thing he had no fear of were swordsman and slashing attacks."You idiot! I told you I'm a sectioned man, I can't be cut by any slash!" He laughed as the attack came right at him and he prepared himself to be separated.

However when the slash hit Buggy it didn't cut him, it crushed him. The strong gravitational force behind the slash sent the clown flying back and he fell to the ground. Buggy picked himself up, his nose was bleeding, his ribs hurt and he had a limp. "You bastard, how the hell did it not cut me?" he demanded angrily, he hadn't been hurt by any blade since he ate his devil fruit all those years ago.

Luffy chuckled "My darkness doesn't cut, it crushes with gravity. If I made the gravitational forces stronger within that slash I could have killed you. But now that your movement is restricted I can finish this quickly."

"Your assuming I don't kill you, or did you forget about my hands?" He held up his empty stumps as he redirected the hands he had sent at Luffy earlier to turn around mid-flight and stab the boy.

Luffy didn't seem concerned and simply summoned forth his darkness. "Black hole!" Darkness sprouted out of Luffy and began to coat the entire area. Buggy's two hands which were turning around mid-flight and heading towards Luffy to stab him in the back were suddenly drawn straight downwards onto the darkness coated ground as the areas gravity became crushingly heavy.

Buggy could only scream as his hands felt like they were being beaten to a pulp. The darkness reached him as well and sucked him in and he felt himself being crushed under infinite gravity. He tried to struggle but his injuries made it hard to move. After a few seconds Buggy was gone, completely sucked into the void.

Everyone who was watching the fight let out varied reactions to what they had just seen but Buggy's crew were the most vocal.

"Our captain was beaten!"

"Impossible."

"That Kids the devil!"

Luffy decided enough was enough and let Buggy out.

"Liberation!"

Buggy and all his body parts flew out of the darkness and landed in a giant heap, all his body parts were bruised and beaten. In truth Luffy had only sent Buggy into a fairly calm void with light gravitational forces. He could have easily sent him into a harsher one.

Luffy walked up to the heap of body parts but was stopped when they all sprang to life.

"Murder Festival!" All of Buggy's body parts sprouted various blades which Buggy had kept hidden inside his body. They all began spinning and headed straight for Luffy.

Luffy let out a tired sigh. He could end this fight in a million different ways. Buggy's devil fruit simply made him far too vulnerable to his own. He settled for a more merciful way of ending the fight.

"Liberation!"

Various objects that he had collected with his darkness such as earth, debris, cannonballs, and even barrels shot out of the darkness in various directions. The objects struck Buggy's individual body parts which fell to the ground too injured to continue.

The debris also ended up flying far and nearly hit the spectators who were watching the fight, who had to dodge the incoming projectiles.

"Ouch! Damnit all that hurt so much!" Buggy screamed as he felt all his body parts being hit by debris.

Luffy not wasting any time summoned some rope from his darkness and quickly tied all of Buggy's body parts together in a giant heap, leaving only his head free.

"I believe I've won this battle." Luffy said happily as he walked up to Buggy's head which was now alone. "Will you give up?"

Buggy's head lunged at Luffy, a knife appearing out of his mouth intent of cutting the boy in one final act of desperation. But Luffy was ready for it and grabbed his head by the sides and threw it roughly to the ground. Luffy picked up the knife and absorbed it into his darkness. "You really don't give up, I admire that."

"This can't be happening…"Buggy muttered sadly, his spirit breaking. "All these years and now I'm going to be an underling to some kid…"

Luffy crouched down before him. "I'm not a cruel man, as a member of my crew you will be my comrade and have equal shares of all treasure. We will have parties, go on adventures, and have a wonderful time."

Buggy looked up at the boy who had defeated him and his eyes widened at what he saw. Luffy was standing before him with a large smile on his face, but the sun was at his back causing his face to be shadowed. It made Buggy think of a similar moment in his past.

* * *

24 years ago, West Blue.

"Get back here thieves!" A shopkeeper yelled as he chased two young boys through the street. Buggy and Shanks ran through several alleys and lost the shopkeeper. Once out of sight they brought out what they had stolen, a loaf of bread. Buggy had distracted the shopkeeper while Shanks had made the actual theft.

Both boys split the bread up and ate their pieces greedily.

Buggy and Shanks were unlikely allies in crime but growing up in the streets of a west blue town made for strange bedfellows. Despite their constant fighting and bickering they made a good team and thus cooperated for the sake of survival.

After eating their prize they walked over to another street and scoped out their next target.

"Make sure it's someone rich, I want to get my hands on treasure. I'm sick of just surviving." Buggy said as he looked around for a suitable target.

Shanks nodded. "Surviving comes first but yeah a rich person would be ideal. With enough money we could buy a boat and get out of this town."

Life had been cruel to the both of them. The town they were from was a poor one since its only real export being quality sake was made from quality rice farms and spring water. But land was scare so if you didn't own a rice farm or a sake brewery you had little to live off of.

Now Shanks and Buggy were living a life of crime in hopes of making enough money to buy themselves a better life.

"AHHH this towns booze is the best!" A voice called out drawing both boys attention.

They saw a man in a richly decorated red coat made out of fine materials with gold buttons, his pants were made out of rich cloth and he wore a straw hat which hid most of his features. He walked through the streets swaying slightly as he took large gulps out a huge bottle of sake.

Shanks and Buggy grinned upon seeing such an easy mark and waited until he walked down a backstreet before striking.

Shanks charged at the man from behind intent on tackling him to the ground but the man simply sidestepped the boy and tripped him causing him to crash face first into the mud. Shanks quickly picked himself up again and charged once more only to be sidestepped and have his head slammed into the muddy ground.

Buggy ran up from the man's side with a knife, intent on cutting his coin purse and running off with it, but the man dodged each one of his strikes. The man grew tired of the dance and grabbed the blade between two of his fingers and promptly snapped it in half.

Buggy stared wide eyed at his broken knife and looked up to the stranger who simply smiled at him.

"You got a funny nose kid." He said as he flicked Buggy on the nose causing the boy to fly back and crash into the mud alongside Shanks.

"You boys got a lot of spirit!" He said happily as he took another gulp of sake. "What would make two kids attack an adult in an alley I wonder?"

Buggy and Shanks picked themselves up and looked up at the man before them. His face hidden by the shade of his straw hat.

"Well I asked why you were attacking me, do you have an answer for that question?" he asked again. "You kids deaf or something?"

"We needed your money. You looked so richly dressed that we figured you were carrying a lot of money…." Shanks admitted as he stared at the ground.

Buggy nodded. "We're desperate, we can't live like this forever. We plan on setting out and finding treasure and living a great life. But first we need to buy a boat…"

The man let out a laugh that caused both boys to shake themselves out of their stupor and stand up. "Ah this is surely a fateful meeting then. I was just telling Rayleigh that we needed some cabin boys to help us on our ship, but he said that kids these days didn't have the guts to serve on a pirate ship. But then here comes two kids who were willing to attack a grown adult. That has to be gutsy enough."

"You want us to serve on a pirate ship?" Shanks asked finally recovering his voice.

"A real pirate ship?" Buggy echoed now sure he was believing what he was hearing.

"Yup. You kids got the guts to serve on a pirate ship?"

"Yes sir!" Both Shanks and Buggy yelled enthusiastically.

"Ha that's the spirit, surely this is fate! My Names Gol D. Roger. I'm the captain of a ship anchored in the southern harbor. Report to Rayleigh my first mate as soon as possible, a life of adventure and treasure await the two of you, all you need is the will to seize it!" Roger said as he lifted the brim of his straw hat finally revealing his face.

"Yes captain!"

They both ran down to the southern docks and began their lives anew as pirates.

* * *

As he looked up at Luffy, Buggy couldn't help but feel the same sort of presence that he felt when first meeting Roger.

"Come on Buggy join my crew, let's find one piece and conquer the Grand Line as comrades."

Buggy felt a million emotions going through him and didn't know what to do. Join the crew of a child and conquering the grand line seemed impossible. But he tried to look at things from a more positive perspective.

' _With the power of a Logia and such life force he could become a great pirate…and I would have fair share in all his treasures, not to mention his actions would overshadow mine and keep me from being a highly wanted man the same way Rogers reputation overshadowed Shanks and I to the point that we never got a single bounty while serving under him.'_

The entire point of staying in East Blue the weakest of the world's oceans was to amass wealth without raising alarm. But despite years of being a successful pirate he wasn't all that rich. He knew that most of the world's wealth was in the grand line and had intended to risk going there again despite the fact it would put him in the marines spotlight again. Not to mention his enemies would be much stronger. He shuddered at the memory of the battles he fought in his youth on those evil seas. But with a powerful Logia user as captain he could amass wealth without being the center of attention and with less risk to himself.

"I know I gave my word boy, and I have no intention of going back on it." Buggy began in a sincere tone. "I may be a pirate but a great man taught me that a man is only as good as his word. So I'll keep the bargain. But I want to ask you for one request."

"Name it."

"I'll serve you for one year without fail. I'll work the ships rigging, fight for you, and even scrub the deck if that's your wish. But after a year I want the ability to choose whether to stay on your crew or leave. I don't want to be another man's slave for the rest of my life and I want to decide for myself whether you're a person worth following."

Luffy smiled upon hearing such a simple request. "Well that's no problem at all, you'll have so much fun and find so much treasure while adventuring with me that you'll never want to leave my crew, and that offer extends to all your crewmates as well."

Buggy let out a sigh of relief, at least he had an out if things didn't go well. "Then I surrender and accept my defeat at your hands boy. Let my body parts out and we'll shake on it."

Luffy untied all of Buggy's limbs out which immediately flew over to the clown and reattached themselves to all the right places. Many of the spectators were expecting some sort of double-cross but were surprised when Buggy simply stood up and held out his hand.

Luffy accepted Buggy's outstretched hand and they shook. The deal was completed.

Buggy turned to where his men were spectating. "Alright guys we now work for-" He stopped himself when he noticed all of his men were gone except for Mohji and Cabaji. "Where the hell did they all go!?"

Mohji and Cabaji looked at the area directly behind them and saw the men had disappeared and were just as surprised as Buggy was. "We don't know sir we were so wrapped up in watching your fight we didn't even notice them disappear." Cabaji nervously pointed out as he looked up and down the streets, seeing no sign of the rest of the crew.

Suddenly one of the villagers who was sitting on the roof of one of the buildings to get a better view of the fight called out. "Oi I think that's them by the docks. It looks like they're about to leave in their pirate ship!"

"The cowards, they would abandon me!?" Buggy turned to Luffy. "All of the treasure I've taken from this town is loaded on that ship, if they manage to get away with it then I won't be able to fulfill that part of the deal."

Luffy immediately began sprinting down to the docks, ready to confront the cowards that were fleeing.

* * *

"Quickly get that sail ready, we have to get out of here before they notice!" One of Buggy's pirates ordered as the crew scrambled around the Big Top, Buggy's pirate ship. "We have the treasure so let's just go!"

Buggy's men had slipped away after watching Luffy summoning terrifying darkness and engulf their captain. They didn't want to be in the presence of such a man much less sail under his command. They finished rigging the ship and were beginning to sail out of the harbor when they saw a dark figure sprinting towards them. It was none other than Luffy who ran up to the end of the dock.

The Big Top was already too far off for him to follow and he couldn't jump into the sea since he was a devil fruit user. Many of Buggy's former crew were already cheering and dancing about on deck at their apparent escape.

Luffy looked around and saw several cannonballs laying on the ground, no doubt leftover from Buggy's men loading up the ship. He absorbed it into his darkness.

"Gravity Barrage!"

The cannonballs flew out of his outstretched hands and flew directly at the Big Top. The cannonballs struck the ship with amazing force from the back and came out the front of the ship, shattering its entire keel and causing the ship to sink with all of its crewman screaming and desperately swimming to stay afloat.

"Crap looks like we're going to have to dive for the treasure…"

* * *

Luffy found himself standing in front of Buggy's former pirate crew who were all tied up and awaiting his judgement. Around him were his companions as well as most of the villagers.

"Originally I was going to add you all to my crew but your cowardice and disloyalty has shown your true character. I don't need crew members who run at the drop of a hat. Therefore none of you will be joining my crew except for Mohji and Cabaji who stood by their former captain even after his defeat. But don't think that means you can just run off."

The pirates were shaking in fear at the fate that awaited them.

"First you're going to rebuild everything that was destroyed in this town, then I'll allow you all to go free. But if I hear one word about you lot threatening this town again." Luffy covered his body in darkness. "Then I'm going to have to do this."

He summoned a large amount of darkness and allowed it to spread to where the pirates were sitting. The pirates screamed in fear as the darkness lapped against them and made the air above them seem heavier. They all screamed and agreed to Luffy's demands and begged him for mercy.

Luffy withdrew the darkness back into himself and turned to the mayor. "I think they get the point. The village will be fine from now on. Once we finish diving for all the treasure that was lost when Buggy's ship sank there should be enough to rebuild the village."

* * *

Several days past and the villagers managed to get all of the treasure from the bottom of the harbor and divided it amongst themselves. The villagers also put Buggy's former crew to work on clearing all the rubble from the destroyed town. They had planned on forcing the crew to rebuild the village but it was obvious the pirates were ill suited for anything other than destroying. So after all the rubble was clear the villagers gave the pirate crew some cheap rowboats and sent them packing with only the clothes on their backs.

Meanwhile Luffy was dealing with the chaos of his new crew. Buggy, Cabaji, and Mohji were now under his command which was cool but also awkward due to their previous loyalties. But he decided to let the past stay in the past and welcomed them into his crew and treated them the same way he treated Nami and Zoro.

The first he did was have a full demonstration of their abilities to know what to expect from them.

Buggy's talents were fairly obvious, his Devil Fruit made him impossible to cut. He also had remarkable durability as seen in their battle when he was able to fight after being sent into one of his dark voids. But what surprised Luffy was his ability to make powerful cannonballs which had the capability of destroying a village if the clown was to be believed.

Mohji on the other hand was fairly strong himself. He had to be in order to assert dominance over animals, but he had very little combat skills relying on his pet lion Richie to do most of the fighting. That was something they would have to work on.

Cabaji was a fairly skilled swordsman, he had Zoro duel with him and he was fairly competent. But his overuse of parlor tricks made him weak and as a result he was beaten easily. He still managed to impress Zoro enough that the green haired pirate hunter offered to train Cabaji, an offer the acrobat accepted happily.

After seeing their skills demonstrated his first order was a total makeover of the crew. He wanted to make it obvious that they were no longer the Buggy pirates anymore, and he while he found their circus theme amusing at first. He knew it would get tiring quickly.

Buggy washed the clown makeup off his face and tied his hair into a large ponytail. He switched over to some blue sailor clothes of high quality similar to that he wore when he was a cabin boy. While he did this in part to appease his new captain he mainly did it to look as nondescript as possible. The more ordinary he looked the less likely he was to get attention in the Grand Line.

Cabaji dressed himself as a carbon copy of Zoro. After his easy defeat in the practice duel he seemed intent on following Zoro's example to the letter. The only difference was Cabaji's outfit was red and white rather than Zoro's black and white outfit.

Mohji was somewhat happy at the chance to change his wardrobe. He simply chose to wear more protective leather clothing to better deal with beasts, replacing his previously weak circus garb.

Luffy knew he would need a bigger ship soon. The gunboat was crowded so he knew things would get nasty on long voyages. Unfortunately the village didn't have any boats for sale and the only boats they had were small fishing boats.

He had Buggy, Cabaji, and Mohji along with his pet lion staying at the docks with the boat. The villagers were upset that the ringleaders of the pirates were still in the area and free but their gratitude to Luffy made them stay silent on the matter. But Luffy knew it was best for both groups to keep their distance.

The villagers had given them more the enough supplies to make a long journey, Nami had calculated the damage to the town and made sure all the treasure from Buggy's treasure hoard was evenly distributed and there was plenty left over for the crew to split amongst themselves.

* * *

With the treasure divided and the villages rebuilding in full swing there was little reason for Luffy and his crew to stay. They had enough supplies and treasure to last them quite a while.

Everyone was ready to leave except Luffy who was standing in the town's only hat store being waited on by the owner.

"Damn this doesn't work either." Luffy said as he put a red tricorn hat back on its display. "A captain should wear a hat but none of these are right for me."

"Perhaps this one sir?" The owner offered a beautiful white plumed bicorn that an admiral would wear. Luffy tried it on but frowned.

"We're getting closer but it's still not quite right."

The store keeper thought about what his customer would truly like then an idea struck him. "I'll be right back." He disappeared into the back for a minute and came out with his best hat. It was black and wide brimmed and very sleek. Its most distinguishing feature was large black feathers which made beautiful plumage.

"This is the best hat that I have, the plumage is from an ostrich. One of the most unique birds in existence since it is unable to fly and spends its entire life on land."

Luffy tried the hat on and looked at himself in the mirror and smiled. "Much better, now I look like a real captain." The hat had a brim that gave him ample shade from the sun,

That seemed to confuse the shopkeeper. "A hat makes you look like a real captain?"

"Of course." Luffy answered confidently. "I couldn't be a real captain if I didn't have a hat." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his golden pocket watch. "Damn I need to be leaving soon, here's some money." He slammed a fat wad of Beli bills on the counter despite the shopkeeper's protests that the hat was free to the savior of the town.

Luffy ran out of the store and began heading down to the docks.

* * *

Departing from Orange town was met with large fanfare. As Luffy and his crew sailed away the villagers were all waving and saying their goodbyes.

Luffy Nami and Zoro were all waving and saying their goodbyes while Buggy Mohji, and Cabaji were below in the boats bowels preferring to stay out sight.

Eventually the island faded out of sight until it could no longer be seen. The crew began to set to work to make the ship ready for its long journey, Nami turned to Luffy.

"So what's our heading?" She asked as she began observing the weather patterns to make sure there were no threats to them on their voyage.

"Set course for the Gecko islands, I made a promise that I intend to keep." Luffy responded as he steered the ship on the course Nami had set.

Zoro was standing by his captain's side, staring at Buggy, Cabaji, and Mohji who had walked out on to the ships deck.

Buggy looked at Luffy angrily. "I really ought to back out of our arrangement. You claimed you were pirates but I come to find out your just bounty hunters. The parley we had as well as the agreements we made under it were made under false pretenses."

"In order to be an acknowledged as a pirate by the world government all one needs to do is have a jolly roger, no official acts of piracy need to be committed." Argued Luffy. "So by legal definition we were pirates at the time. Besides I do intend to set out as a pirate officially once we decide to set off to the Grand Line."

"I still say you lied and cheated!"

"You gave me your word so you can't go back on it now. Besides where in the negotiations did I say I was a pirate? You simply assumed that because of the Jolly Roger, so it's your own fault for leaping to conclusions. But I was honest about my intentions to one day become Pirate King."

"Fine you win this round by technicality brat." Buggy growled out as he acknowledged the boys success.

"Buggy is that anyway to address your new captain? I think I deserve a little more respect then that."

Buggy looked like he was about lose his temper but he mastered himself in a moment. "May I please be dismissed _captain_ brat?" He asked through gritted teeth.

"Much better, as you were Buggy."

The clown stalked off leaving Luffy, Nami, and Zoro alone.

"If you told me we would recruit a clown, acrobat, lion tamer, and a lion into the crew when we first met I would have laughed my ass off, but here we are with all of them on our boat." Zoro muttered as he watched Buggy's retreating form disappear below deck.

Nami nodded. "I'm not sure what type of crew your assembling Luffy but it will certainly be the most interesting one the world has seen." She added as she looked at their new additions to the group. " I shudder trying to imagine what your crew will look like if you keep up this kind of recruitment."

"Buts that's the best part isn't it?" Luffy asked. "Not knowing what people will join us as we conquer the grand line creates such a wonderful mystery to it all, I wager I'll have the greatest crew to ever exist."

"Planning on making it into the history books?" questioned Zoro as he leaned against the ships railing.

"If becoming the Pirate King and having the world's greatest crew makes me famous then I guess fame can't be helped." Luffy said as he off into the endless blue horizon. "I have no say in it Zoro, it's a pirate's life for me."

* * *

 **Authors Note**

15,034 words not counting authors notes and disclaimers. Man am I tired.

Not sure how people will react. This is the chapter that I think will have people either liking this story or hating it. Now people know what to expect.

I will be adding my own lore into this story, hopefully in a way that doesn't violate the lore that already exists. But lets just say I plan on expanding on certain things. I was actually surprised by how detailed the real Pirate codes are when I was researching the golden age of piracy. Pirates had a ton of laws and rules, each varying from ship to ship.

But here it is and boy what a chapter. It took forever to correct this thing and there are no doubt a million errors I didn't pick up, so if you see any errors feel free to message me about them. I do make it a point to correct each one a person mentions. it doesn't even have to be spelling errors just general confusion over a paragraph or sentence also counts.

Also Isuck at making up move names for Luffys attacks. if you have any ideas throw them at me and we'll see what sticks.

Also Ive decided to simply stick to English. I will be going back and changing any Japanese words or suffixes into English. While I love the Japanese language and think it sounds super cool I simply don't have the ability to translate move names or use suffixes correctly. If that bothers you I'm sorry.

Also a reviewer who chose tor remain anonymous mentioned that Luffy shouldn't be able to create pocket dimensions using his darkness. Maybe I didn't explain it well enough but I use the term "pocket void" for simplification. Luffys ability lets him create a infinite amount of darkness, darkness can swallow things up and he can control how the gravity functions within his darkness. This allows him to store things inside of his darkness by storing them in pocket voids that have no real gravity.

This functions under the same principal as Caribous swamp logia ability. We can see he can store weapons, treasure, and even people inside his body since his body is a infinite swamp. That's why he was able to almost swallow up Shirahoshi despite her being ten times his size.

This reviewer also said Luffy shouldn't be able to absorb sea stone with his darkness. Its been shown in the anime and manga that sea stone only has an effect on Devil Fruit powers if it comes into contact with the user. not the users ability. That's why Mr.3 can use his wax key ability to unlock seastone handcuffs, and why in the One piece movie film Z Logia users can fight against Z's robot arm made out of sea stone.

Id like to thank all the people who faved and alerted this story and especially all my reviewers. You guys are I know some of you say its uneccessary but I make it a point to thank all of you personally. At least for now while the story is averaging 15 reviews a chapter. If it gets much higher personal thanks might become impossible.

Thank you Keeper of the worlds, Fanfictionhunter, Inverse Psyche, nightmaster000, avatoa, Lightningblade49, MakudeDaKiddX, Joyhnny Spectre, Zaralann, Treetho, chimera629, Devlin Dracul, LongPastmidnight, Iskandar06, Awareness Bringer.


	5. Promises and Black Cats

**Disclaimer-I do not own One Piece**

* * *

Luffy looked out over the sea and smiled. He and his crew were currently sailing to Syrup village, a small village located on a remote island. His crew wondered why he wanted to go to such a nondescript place but Luffy had simply responded that he needed to keep a promise.

' _When I make a promise I keep it, I have a special delivery to make to a certain someone.'_ He thought as he gazed out over the ocean. He wanted to enjoy the voyage but he found that his crew were having issues getting along and it was fraying his nerves.

"Get away from me pirate! I don't want you anywhere near me!" Nami yelled at Buggy as she glared at the former clown with hatred.

"Oi watch your mouth girl! We're on the same crew now so you better be nice!" Buggy and Nami's faces were inches apart as they glared daggers at each other. It looked like things were about to come to blows.

"I don't have to be nice to a big red nosed weirdo like you!" She stuck her finger at his red nose to emphasize her point.

"BIG RED NOSE! Now you've done it missy, I generally don't like hitting women but you are the exception!" Buggy's anger rose like a phoenix at the mention of his nose and he was rolling up his sleeve in preparation for the inevitable fight.

BOOM

The loud shot drew the attention of the crew and broke up the impending fight. Luffy stood near the ships wheel holding a smoking pistol. "ENOUGH!" Luffy yelled which silenced both parties. "I know that this boat doesn't have much breathing room but I won't have my crew getting into fights after only an hour at sea. Especially over something so pointless, if you're going to fight over something make sure it's something worth fighting about. Like meat."

"Meat?" everyone questioned simultaneously, unsure whether their captain was being serious or stupid or a combination of both.

His words had some effect on everyone and calmed things down. But Luffy didn't want another argument to come up. "I know things have been difficult. We have new members in our growing crew, and this ship is fairly small. Not to mention the fact that we haven't had a chance to properly get to know each other." Luffy summoned several barrels of booze out of his darkness along with some food.

"The sea is calm and our course is set, let's have a party to celebrate the fact that our crew has grown." Luffy rested his hand on a barrel of ale. "Let's see if any of you can beat me in a drinking contest."

That suggestion as well as the appearance of alcohol dispelled the tension that had lingered on the ship.

"I hope you'll accept defeat gracefully captain." Zoro said as he popped open one of the barrels and filled a mug which he immediately downed.

Cabaji walked up to the barrel and filled his own mug. "You might have me beat at swordsmanship Zoro but I'll show you who the best drinker is." He took a drink and drank it easily in one gulp. "Smooth and easy, just like my inevitable victory. "

Buggy was never one to turn down a challenge involving alcohol and decided to join in. "Okay you kids, out of the way, I'll show you how a real man drinks." He said downing his own drink. _'If you can't beat em, you might as well show em how it's done.'_ He thought as the burning alcohol flowed down his throat.

' _These idiots have no idea what they're in for.'_ Nami thought happily, she could outdrink anyone. It was her greatest ability and she had used it on numerous occasions during her life as a thief. People were easier to steal from when they were passed out drunk on the floor.

The earlier fight forgotten the crew sat around a small table on the ships deck and began to party. Booze and food was quickly consumed and it didn't take long for everyone to get a great deal friendlier. Any previous hostility was forgotten as the group settled into calm conversation.

"Oi Mohji, I've been meaning to ask, what is the deal with you hair?" Zoro asked curiously. "Is that even really your hair?"

Mohji let out an angry huff. "I can't help it. It's grown in this way since I was a child. This type of hair is fairly common where I'm from." He rubbed the fluffy ear like hair protrusions on the top of his head.

"Where is that the land of fairies and pixies?" Nami asked as she giggled at how silly Mohji looked petting his head.

"No." he said, stifling an angry growl. "I'm from an island to the far north called Jungland. It's a dense jungle island with animals that are much larger and stronger than their usual counterparts. That's why Richie is so big." He began patting the side of his lion as the beast happily ate a large piece of meat.

"What does that have to do with your hair though?" Luffy questioned as he reached for a piece of meat only for Richie to swipe it away with his big claws. Luffy glared at the lion who only seemed to chuckle as it ate the meat. "You bastard! That was my meat, give it back!" Luffy bit into the meat and the two of them began to play tug-of-war with it as the prize.

The crew ignored their captain's antics and focused once more on Mohji. "Some of the village elders say it's because we lived amongst animals so much that our hair grew in like this. We lived in isolation for hundreds of years before making consistent contact with the outside world so it's only natural we would look different from other people."

"Wow, so why did you leave that island? It sound super cool!" Luffy called out while still wrestling with Richie for the meat. The boy imagined all the amazing animals on the island, he also imagined how much meat those enormous animals must have on them and had to stop himself from drooling.

"Not much work for a Beastmaster anymore so I had to leave." Mohji said sadly as he took a deep drink of his ale.

"Beastmaster?" Zoro, and Nami questioned together.

Mohji nodded. "In my homeland a few children are born every generation with the ability to commune with wild beasts and tame them. These children grow up to be Beastmaster's that protect the villages around our homeland and ensure that the large beasts of the jungle do not harm the villagers."

Nami nodded her head thoughtfully. "If that's true why weren't you able to find work? It sounds like a man who could tame and command beasts would be invaluable there."

"It was a respected position until a few decades ago. My homeland became a member state of the world government and because of that we had stabilized trade as well as marines protecting us. As a result my people began putting more faith in guns and cannons then an ancient tradition of taming beasts." Mohji let out a wistful sigh. "Despite my gift to commune with animals I was left on the streets doing performances with Richie and sometimes even begging in order to make ends meet. One day Buggy found me and Richie begging on a roadside and made me an offer to join his crew. The rest is history."

"That's stupid." Luffy muttered as he resumed his old sitting position while eating a badly torn up piece of meat. "Why the hell would you bother with guns and cannons when you could have an army of cool animals by your side? Richie is easily twice the size of the average lion. I can only imagine how big the other animals grow."

Mohji chuckled. "This is nothing. The beasts in Jungland live for over a hundred years and grow for a great deal of those. Richie is about seven years old so he's still considered a cub. He is going to get much bigger." Mohji pat Richie on his head to soothe the beast over his loss of his meat. Which made the lion rolled over like an obedient cat.

"Don't take that Beastmaster stuff too seriously." Cabaji interjected. "I've seen Mohji tame some wild beasts but it doesn't always work. He couldn't even tame a little dog back in Orange town."

"I can tame _wild_ beasts. That dog was already domesticated and had loyalty to a previous owner." Explained Mohji defensively. "I was planning on taming that dog and getting into that pet store. Unfortunately you guys showed up with your demands for parley and threw that plan off track."

"What about you Cabaji, what's your story?" Luffy asked "Did you come from an island of acrobats or did you just sort of fall into the whole acrobat swordsman thing?"

Cabaji chuckled. "I came from a simple island to the far south. I was an orphan with excellent reflexes and substantial physical prowess." He bragged in a not so humble manner whilst flexing his body. "So I did what any kid in that situation would do. I joined a circus and became an acrobat. The sword fighting was simply something I took up to improve my act, but I ended up being gifted in that as well."

"How do you go from circus acrobat to pirate?" inquired Nami. "It seems like a really drastic career change."

"Well I found my way into Buggy's crew after a…" Cabaji fumbled to find the right words. "…misunderstanding with the owner of the traveling circus I was a part of."

"It was more than a misunderstanding." Interrupted Mohji. "He slept with the circus owner's daughter. Cabaji ended up being chased through the village while he was completely naked with the entire cricus chasing after him."

At this everyone began laughing except Zoro who simply slapped Cabaji on the back and complimented him on his guts.

"Don't make it sound so funny, you're leaving out a lot of stuff!" Cabaji argued trying to get the conversation back on track and away from his embarrassing escapade. "They ended up catching me and I was almost met my end. If it wasn't for you and Buggy showing up and rescuing me I would be dead right now."

"Wow, Buggy saved both of you." Nami was surprised by the red nosed pirate sitting across from her. "I guess there is some good lurking inside of your black heart."

Buggy glared at the navigator. "I might be a pirate but I'm not heartless. I know what it's like to be poor and suffer. So I guess I do have a soft spot for the downtrodden."

"That didn't stop you from robbing Orange town or all the other acts of piracy you committed." Retorted Nami, she still hadn't forgotten about the way Buggy had robbed people.

"I didn't hurt a single villager in that entire town, I make it a point to avoid bloodshed unless it's absolutely necessary." Buggy argued. "Most pirates would have burned and looted the entire town, but I had my men meticulously go from house to house and only take valuables. The villagers were allowed to stay in their shelter with plenty of food and water."

"Wow you're a saint…"

"I never claimed I was a saint or even a good person." Buggy said while glaring at the orange haired girl across from him. "But I do have a code I live by. Monsters like Don Krieg are known for leaving no survivors. I made sure those villagers were simply suppressed and so long as they didn't interfere no harm would come to them. Once I was done looting the town they would have returned to their homes and found them empty of gold but mostly intact."

It looked like Nami was going to retort and a real argument would ensue but Luffy decided to end it before it began.

"That's enough you two, no point in fighting over that." Luffy interjected as he tried to cool down the tempers of his crew. "Buggy is part of this crew and so long as I'm captain we won't be raiding any poor villages."

"Then I guess we're going to be eating ramen noodles for this entire voyage." grumbled Buggy. "A pirate that doesn't steal is going to be a poor pirate."

"Are you some sort of idiot?" Luffy asked ignoring the death glare Buggy sent his way. "Why steal from the poor? First off it's awful to steal from people who can't barely support themselves. Second there is next to no profit in it. If we are going to steal it's going to be nobles, kings, and the wealthy who have tons of money."

"Now that's an act of piracy I can get behind." Nami said happily. "Liberating some fat noble of all his gold is hardly a crime, it's just a redistribution of wealth."

The conversation became lighter and the party became much more entertaining for the crew. After an intense round of drinking everyone began to bond over party activities. Zoro, Cabaji and Buggy all played darts. They used daggers as projectiles and a hastily drawn dartboard on the ships mainsail.

Meanwhile Mohji was showing Nami how to groom Ritchie. Ritchie purred under Nami's grooming which made the girl hug the giant lion like he was a giant plush. Luffy went from group to group, drinking and telling stories and having a great time.

* * *

Several hours later everyone had fallen asleep except for Luffy and Nami who were comfortably sitting on the ships deck with their backs leaning against the ships mainsail.

"I have no Idea how you aren't dead drunk." Nami said as she observed her sober companion. "You drank as much as I did and you aren't even tipsy. Either you have the constitution of a god or you've been cheating."

Luffy turned to face her and opened his mouth as wide as possible. Nami was confused at the teen's antics but when she looked into his mouth she saw a portal of darkness within it. Luffy closed his mouth and couldn't help but chuckle. "Shishishi I've been sending all the alcohol I've been drinking into a storage area within my darkness. I haven't actually drank a single drop of booze this entire night." Luffy let out a content sigh. "Truthfully I'm not much of a drinker, I just wanted everyone to loosen up since things have been so tense."

Nami was tempted to hit the boy for his cheating but she resisted the urge. He was right about things being tense and the party was a great way to get rid of that tension. She had gotten much closer to Cabaji, Mohji, and even managed to have a non-hostile conversation with Buggy.

"Yeah the party was nice, it's something I'm going to miss." She wistfully muttered as she looked out over the dark ocean. The moon was full allowing them to see the oceans beautiful waves despite the darkness, with the only manmade light being a small lantern hanging on the mainsail.

"What do you mean it's something you're going to miss?"

Nami let out a tired sigh. "I told you before Luffy that I won't join your crew. Now that you've recruited Buggy, Mohji, and Cabaji you are a real captain of a pirate crew. Not to mention the fact that treasure has to be split six ways. I can't hope to make enough money if I stay here. So I'll be leaving you guys after we reach the next island."

"So why do you need all this money?" Luffy asked as he turned to regard his companion. "I can tell you aren't gathering it for yourself."

Nami hated how Luffy was able to see her motivations. She was tempted to lie but deiced to tell him a half truth. "Let's just say I owe a debt to a certain man. If I pay this debt then everyone I care about will be safe. That's why I need so much money."

Luffy previously calm demeanor shifted slightly and Nami noticed his eyes became more focuses and sharp. "If anyone is threatening you I could take care of them." He responded without a moment's hesitation. "You've seen how strong I am, just give me a name or a location and I promise they won't hurt you or anyone you care about." Luffy's serious tone surprised her and it took a moment for her to regain her wits and respond to his offer.

"It's tempting…" She was truly tempted to let Luffy and Arlong duke it out, but years of watching Arlong take on entire marine battleships made her hesitate. She couldn't make such a gamble when she was so close to getting the money to complete her deal. "But I won't risk it, it's more than my life on the line. All I need is about twelve million more beli and I can complete my deal without any risk to those I care about."

Luffy had to hide a grimace. He didn't like it when people doubted him and was about to call Nami out on it. But the solemn look on her face made him stay silent on the subject. "So only twelve million huh? Are you sure the person you owe money to will keep the deal? He doesn't sound very trustworthy."

"He is the very worst type of person." Nami couldn't believe she was telling Luffy all of this. It might have been all the booze she drank or a growing friendship with the boy but she was comfortable talking to him. It made her uneasy. In her line of work things like trust and friendship were a hindrance that stood in the way of conning people out of money. But she couldn't help but feel relaxed in his presence. "But as terrible a person as he is. He always keeps his word in deals involving money. He would rather die than go back on a deal like this."

"Even when you're explaining things you still managed to be vague…"

"You're lucky, I've never told this sort of stuff to anyone else before." She retorted. "So now you know why I can stay on this crew anymore. If you were a bad person I would have robbed you blind and left without explanation. You're lucky I've stuck around this long."

Luffy let out a tired sigh. "You could have saved a lot of time if you told me the truth in the first place." He summoned forth darkness from his body and out of it came a briefcase. "There that should be more than enough to pay off your debt. Then there will be nothing stopping you from joining my crew."

With shaking hands Nami opened the briefcase and found it packed full of money, no doubt the results of Luffy's bounty hunting career. She counted it and found it to be worth about fourteen million beli.

"Luffy this is a lot of money…"

"So?"

"What type of person just give money away like this?" Nami asked as she kept counting the money in front of her. Throughout her entire life money never came without strings attached and the idea of someone giving away this much didn't add up in her mind.

"It's just money, it's not like I'm giving away meat or anything…" Seeing Nami's disbelieving look he decided to elaborate. "Look…I like money as much as the next person but there's tons of it out there in the world. The world government prints more of the stuff every single day. But I only have a few friends and all of them are priceless. If this money makes you happy and helps you out then it's yours."

The words touched Nami and made her more than a little uncomfortable but she still couldn't believe what she was hearing. "So there are no strings attached? I figured you would use this as leverage to make me join your crew once you decide to officially become a pirate."

Luffy simply shrugged. "I want you to join my crew but I don't want it to be some sort of business arrangement." Luffy stuck out his tongue in disgust at the idea of forcing someone to join his crew through bribery. "Join my crew or don't, the money is yours regardless. But I hope you'll consider joining me once your debt is paid. I promise we'll go on all sorts of adventures, have fun, and find tons of treasure."

Nami didn't know what to say, all her life money was always something you had to steal or make a deal for. Never had anyone given money to her so freely without expectation of repayment. "Luffy…Thank you." She said in a hushed tone not trusting her voice.

"No problem." He responded casually. "After we get ourselves a new ship you can take this gunboat and pay off your debt. I hope you'll join my crew but if it's not what you want I won't force it."

"I can't promise I can join your crew but…." She couldn't believe what she was saying, a few weeks ago she would have found the idea of joining a pirate crew willingly laughable. But if her village was free from Arlong she would be free with it and would be able to choose her own future. She didn't know if she wanted to be a pirate or even leave her village after the debt was paid but she could think of worse things than joining a pirate crew and seeking adventure and treasure. "But I can promise that once things have settled down Ill consider joining up. I wish I could promise more but the future is still so uncertain."

"That's fine Nami. You're my friend, so your word is enough for me."

They didn't say anything else to each other and were content to simply sit on the ships deck and gaze at the moon as it reflected off the oceans waters. After several minutes of relaxing silence both of them fell asleep under the light of the full moon.

* * *

"There is no way this plan is going to work." Nami said as she, Zoro, and Luffy all walked up to the marine bases bounty office. They had taken a slight detour to visit a place called Azure town. It was a nice town located on a remote island, it didn't have anything they really needed but it did have a marine base where they could collect a certain bounty.

"It'll work so long as everyone sticks to my brilliant plan." Luffy said while leading the group through the streets of the town. "Besides it'll make all of us a lot of money."

"Whatever, let's just hurry up so I can go get a drink." Zoro muttered as he looked along the buildings to see if the town had a decent looking bar.

"If this plan works there's no way we are sticking around. After we do this we are getting the hell out of here." Nami said as she dragged the Pirate hunter away from a bar he had just spotted.

Eventually the three of them made it to the marine base and were led into the office of the commanding officer. The marine officer was a large man in a meticulously clean uniform with his dark hair slicked back.

"I heard some bounty hunters came to claim a bounty." The officer said as he leaned back into his chair. "Which bounty did you wish to claim?"

"Buggy the Clown." Luffy walked up to the man and plopped a small bag down on the desk and opened it up revealing the head of Buggy the Clown.

After their big party a few days ago the issue came up of what to do about Buggy. If the crew was to continue being bounty hunters they couldn't have a well-known pirate in their midst at all times. So Luffy decided the best way to have Buggy on his crew and keep up the façade of a bounty hunter was to fake the clown's death and have all his wanted posters retracted.

Which is why they now found themselves standing in a marine base with Buggy's head on the man's desk. It was easy enough to separate Buggy's head from his body thanks to the power of the devil fruit he ate, but now they had to hope Buggy could play dead long enough for them to collect the reward.

The marine commander reached into his desk and pulled out a folder where he kept numerous bounty posters. After several seconds of searching he found Buggy's wanted poster and looked at it and the head on his desk comparing the two.

"This is no doubt the head of Buggy the clown. I'm surprised it's so well preserved." He reached over and touched it gently to confirm it was real flesh, after a few seconds of contact he retracted his hand. "Definitely flesh. Usually we would retract money from the bounty due to the bounty being dead since we can't make a public spectacle of it. However this head is so well preserved it will be enough to convince the public that Buggy is no longer of this world. All I need is some pictures for tomorrow's papers."

He used his intercom to call up a marine photographer who took numerous pictures of Buggy's head including a few with Luffy and Zoro posing with it triumphantly so that the paper would be able to credit the bounty hunters. Once the photoshoot was done the marine commander had a soldier bring up the reward.

"Good job on killing Buggy, it seems like the stories of Monkey D. Luffy and Roronoa Zoro are true after all." The commander said as he handed the suitcase of reward money to Nami who grabbed it eagerly. "Keep this up and you boys might become world famous."

"Thanks mister, I was wondering if I could ask you for a favor?" Luffy asked, trying to hide his relief that their plan had worked.

"Name it."

"Could we keep the head?" Luffy asked. "My companion here is a bit gruesome and likes to keep the skulls of bounties he kills as souvenirs."

Zoro had to hold back yelling at his captain for making such a remark but it was the only way they had come up with for getting the head back after turning it in.

"A bit gruesome indeed but I suppose it's not surprising." The commander said evenly. "Mementos are important, look at the flags around this room. These were Jolly Rogers of all the pirate crews' I've taken down in my ten years of service."

Sure enough the room was full of Jolly Rogers each one distinct and representing an entire pirate crew. The sight of it made the three sweat in worry if the man figured out the whole thing was a farce.

"Take the head with my blessing, we have enough photos for a positive ID and we would just end up throwing it into the incinerator anyway. There's no point in sending the head to forensics since there's no way anyone else in this world would have a nose as big and as red as that one.

Luffy, Nami and Zoro quickly grabbed the bag and ran out of the office just as Buggy began to lose his temper at the man who had mentioned his nose. The marine commander looked at their departing forms curiously but shrugged and turned back to his paperwork.

* * *

Back on the gunboat Mohji was cutting Cabaji's hair with a pair of scissors that he kept on hand for his own unruly hair.

"Shorter." The acrobat said as he looked at himself with a mirror. "I want it all short so that when it grows back its even enough for me to tie it up in the back like a true swordsman."

Mohji scoffed at his companions words. "So you're really taking this whole swordsman thing seriously huh?"

"Yes and No. Seeing Zoro in action inspired me to train my swordsmanship but I was never really one for following Bushido." Cabaji said as he instructed Mohji to cut his hair shorter. "If I learn his swordsmanship skills along with my amazing acrobatic abilities I will become an unstoppable pirate. He has already shown me several techniques for fighting with two swords."

Mohji rolled his eyes at his friend's statement. "Well at least your hair will look tolerable for once, having half your head short and the other half long made you look like the biggest tool on the ocean."

Cabaji turned to glare at his friend. "That's rich coming from you and those big fluffy animal ears on your head. I can't tell if you're a pirate or a children's mascot!"

"I can't help it if I was born this way! You on the other hand choose to look like a skunk died on the left half of your head!"

Before a true fight could break out they were intercepted by a very familiar voice yelling.

"Let me out of this bag! I'm going to go back there and stab that marine in the heart for insulting my nose!" Buggy yelled as his head thrashed around in the bag Luffy was carrying. The group walked up onto the deck of the gunship and brought the bag over to where the rest of Buggy's body was sitting.

Finally fed up Luffy opened up the bag, allowing Buggy's head to jump out of it and take several deep breaths. "Do you kids have any idea how hard it is to breathe in a bag?!" The clown asked angrily as his body walked over to them and reattached its head. "Not to mention being manhandled and having to hold my breath for so long just so that the marines thought I was dead!"

Nami sat down on the ships deck and opened up the suitcase. "Stop your complaining we did this for your sake. Now help me divvy up this money, we all have to get equal shares."

Buggy kept silent after that, he knew that the plan was primarily for his benefit. Now that people believed him to be dead it would be easier for the crew to travel without raising suspicions and it would remove the threat of marines searching for him.

"We're just lucky Cabaji and Mohji didn't have bounties." Nami said as she divided the money. She reached into her pocket and threw a red bandana at Buggy. "Even if you aren't wanted you should out that around your face to hide your nose until we are out of the East blue. It won't take long for marines to figure out you're not really dead if you walk around openly."

Buggy took the bandana and with a grimace wrapped it around his face so that it covered his mouth and his nose.

Seeing the rest of his crew settle in Luffy decided it was time to leave. "We're safe and Buggy is no longer a wanted man. Not to mention the fact we are all a bit richer." Luffy said gesturing to the giant stack of money that Nami was dividing up. "Now that we have this distraction out of the way we can head to our main destination."

* * *

Several days had passed since their visit to the marine base and a great many things had happened to Luffy and his crew.

The day after turning in a 'dead' Buggy the pirates were treated to a newspaper featuring Zoro and Luffy on the front page holding Buggy's head as a trophy with the headline

' _Pirate hunters Roronoa Zoro and Monkey D. Luffy bring an end to Buggy the Clowns Tyranny'_

Everyone on the crew had laughed at the exaggerated news articles and the pictures that the paper had. Buggy was embarrassed and tore the paper up once everyone was done reading it but was secretly relieved that he was no longer a wanted man.

The next big thing was that they embarked on a small island to refill their water barrels and get food but were attacked by a man named Gaimon who was masquerading as a guardian of the forest in order to scare off poachers who wanted to take the islands strange animals. He was a strange man with a large afro who was stuck in a treasure chest after a tragic accident, it was a story that made Luffy and Buggy break down into tears.

After some bonding and revealing that the treasure the man had been protecting wasn't there Gaimon made peace with his loss and decided to stay as the islands protector since the animals on the island were his greatest treasure. They spent the day relaxing on the island and restocking their ship. Buggy and Gaimon ended up bonding and the clown insisted that the crew leave behind things Gaimon couldn't easily get such as wooden containers, weapons, and ammunition.

After that they disembarked once again and after another day of sailing they came upon the Gecko islands where Syrup village was located.

"Finally here." Luffy surveyed the island and saw a nice flat place to dock their ship. "Let's get going I have a delivery to make."

His crew followed his orders and brought the gunboat up onto shore and tied it safely down. They were about to disembark to the islands only village when a voice called out from the trees.

"Who dares enter this territory without invitation?!' The voice called out. "State your purpose or I will send my eighty million followers to attack you!"

"My name is Monkey D. Luffy and I'm a Bounty Hunter!" Luffy called out. "I'm not here to make trouble, I'm simply here to meet someone. So please tell those imaginary followers of yours to stand down."

A young man walked out of the tree line with three young children following after him. The leader was a young man wearing brown overalls and a plaid bandana on his head. His most distinguishing feature was his long nose and bushy hair.

"How did you know I was lying?" He asked as he walked up to the group of strangers.

"My home island is twice this size and wouldn't be able to fit eighty million people."

"Lesson learned…" Usopp muttered sadly. "Sorry about my rudeness but I've made it a point to look out for suspicious people."

"Well we aren't suspicious at all." Luffy gestured to his crew. "Come on guys introduce yourselves."

One by one the crew introduced themselves and each one made Usopp realize that a bunch of strange people had come to his island. Mohji in particular and his pet lion Richie had given him a scare so terrible he almost ran away screaming.

"Wow you guys sure are an interesting bunch." Usopp said as he looked at the newcomers. "Well my name is Usopp you can think of me as the town crier. This is my crew Ninjin, Tamanegi, and Piiman." He gestured to the three children who were dressed as pirates. "So what brings a bounty hunter and his crew to this place? It's one of the most peaceful parts of the east blue."

Luffy blinked in surprise. "There's two things we came here for. The first thing is that we need a larger ship."

Usopp nodded thoughtfully. "Well I know someone with a large ship, I don't know if they'd be willing to part with it, but I can at least introduce you guys. What's the second thing?"

"The second thing is you actually."

That bit of news surprised everyone who looked at Luffy expectantly.

"Me?" questioned Usopp. "What do you want with me? I've never met you before in my entire life."

"I'm willing to tell you but first can we please go somewhere more comfortable? My crew and I have been at sea and need to rest."

Usopp agreed and he dismissed his young pirate crew for the day and led Luffy and the others to his house. It was a small two bedroom house on the outskirts of the village. It was plain but comfortable and soon everyone was sitting around his dining room table. The seating was tight and Richie had to stay outside since the lion didn't even fit through the door but soon everyone was situated comfortably and eating rice crackers and drinking tea that their host had provided.

"So why would a bounty hunter travel all the way here to meet me?" Usopp tensed as a sudden realization dawned on him "I'm not wanted for something am I? Because I swear I've done nothing wrong!"

"Calm down, I'm just here to deliver something to you." He summoned darkness from his body that coated the entire table which scared Usopp and sent the boy reeling back until he smacked into a wall. "Don't freak out. I ate a devil fruit and have control over darkness. It helps me fight but also lets me store things in it." Out of the darkness a large chest appeared on the table. Luffy recalled his darkness back into himself and gestured towards the large chest.

"Your father asked me to deliver this to you when I set out to sea."

After seeing Luffy's ability to store a near infinite amount of objects within his darkness Yasopp had outright demanded that the boy deliver something to his son. Luffy didn't see a problem with it since carrying around the huge chest was easy for him thanks to his devil fruit ability. "He wanted to deliver it himself but couldn't."

"I've never even met my father…" Usopp said after he got over his initial shock of Luffy's abilities. He looked at the chest with reverence and could barely think straight. "How is it that you know my father?"

Luffy went on to explain to him how Shanks had visited his village and how he knew Yasopp by association. He told him everything the man had ever said to him and everything he knew about his father.

"He would always talk about you to the point where I got sick of it." Luffy said as he leaned back in his chair and drank some tea. "I'm surprised I didn't recognize you were his son immediately, you look just like him with the exception of your nose."

"Yeah I got this nose from my mother." Usopp said sheepishly. "Still it's great to hear about my father, I always knew he was a pirate and it made me proud to be his son. Knowing that he is sailing with the likes of Shanks makes me even prouder."

"Yes Shanks is really great." Buggy grumbled as he drank his tea. "Now will you open the chest already? The suspense is killing me, who knows what type of treasure a member of Shanks crew sent you. It's probably from the New World."

All eyes turned to Usopp who opened up the chest and reached into it and pulled out two envelopes. "There's a bunch of stuff in here but these were on top. They look like letters, one is addressed to me and the other to my mother."

Usopp opened up the letter addressed to him and found a letter which he began to read it out loud.

 _To my Son, Usopp._

 _If you're reading this letter then that means Luffy managed to deliver my chest to you without damaging it or eating it._

"Hey!" Luffy called out and was about to protest more but Nami covered his mouth with her hand to silence him.

 _I've spent an entire week trying to figure out what to write in this letter and what to say to you. The last time I saw you and your mother was when I was pulling out of the harbor with my crew and watching her wave goodbye with you bundled up in her arms._

 _It broke my heart to leave you both but the pirate flag was calling me and all the freedom it promised. I know that must sound selfish, especially since you've had to grow up without a father. I know I'm a bad parent and I wouldn't blame you if you hated me._

 _I just want you to know that not a day goes by where I don't think of you and your mother. Everyday I'm tempted to steal a ship and sail back home and see the both of you, but to do so I would have to abandon my comrades._

 _I have no Idea what type man you have grown up to be or what path you've chosen in life. But if you ever get the urge to set out to sea someday I have left you these tools so that you can stand up against anything the world can throw at you._

 _My only regret in life is not being able to see what a good and strong man you have become._

 _Love, your Dad_

Usopp set the letter down and couldn't stop the tears from flowing down his face. He looked around and saw that everyone else in the room was effected by it as well.

"Yasopp always did talk about you, but he never said such nice things before." Luffy said as he recalled the hundreds of times Yasopp talked about his son.

"Kid you're lucky to have such a great dad!" Buggy said trying to hide his emotions. "I never knew my dad either."

"Makes me wish I knew my father." Cabaji muttered.

"Makes me want to see if I have any family left in Jungland." Mohji said sadly.

"Zzzzzzzzz" Zoro was snoring as he slept in his chair, he hadn't even been awake for the letter reading.

"Very nice." Nami said shattering the emotional moment. "But I can't help but wonder what kind of stuff he left you that could help you out."

"I'm curious about that as well." Usopp said as he gazed at the chest but found the rest of its contents hidden beneath a cloth. "But first I might as well read the letter he addressed to my mother. She died many years ago so I might as well open it." Shaking those sad thoughts about his mother out of his head the long nosed teen opened the letter for his mother and pulled out several photos that made him scream and drop them all over the table.

Everyone at the table looked at the pictures that had fallen out of the letter and understood Usopp's peril.

The pictures were all of Yasopp in various poses and he was very much naked. Nami observed that there was a note on one of the pictures and decided to read it out loud. "To my darling Bachina. In case you have any lonely nights I leave these pictures for you. If I was with you right now I would be tearing off your clothes and making love to you like an animal."

Nami and everyone got over their initial disgust and burst out laughing, even Zoro woke up and figured out what was happening and joined the laughter. The only exception was Usopp who didn't find it funny at all.

"Oi stop that laughing!" Usopp ran forward and grabbed the various pictures from his guest's hands. "These were only meant for my mother's eyes. I'll have to dig a small hole out back and bury it on top of her grave."

Luffy managed to get control of his laughing and focused on the chest. "It will be good to figure out what's in there. The suspense has been killing me for years." There were times he was tempted to open the chest but he made a promise to Yasopp to deliver it and he never went back on a promise.

Usopp took the cloth out of the chest and reached in and pulled out an object. It was a gun but what type of gun Usopp couldn't tell. Surprisingly it was Buggy that recognized the firearm.

"I haven't seen one of those in years!" Buggy exclaimed as he got up off his chair and examined the gun in Usopp's hands with the eye of an expert. "This is amazing, it's obviously a custom job. I haven't seen a flashy gun like this since I was traveling through the New World."

"What type of gun is it?" Usopp questioned as he examined the firearm. It was a beautiful piece of work made out of a black wood and the metal was a fine steel. It look like a shortened shotgun, but the tip of the barrel obviously indicated it was a gun meant for long distance shooting. It had a flintlock mechanism like most guns but the ammo bay was too big for normal round shot. "It's too short for a rifle but it seems to be meant for sniping."

"Push the button on the right side." Buggy ordered as he pointed at the small button that was located on the side of the gun.

Usopp obeyed Buggy's order and the second he did the gun expanded, its barrel shot out and it became a proper rifle. It was almost as long as Usopp was tall which made it a bit unwieldy. "What kind of gun is this?" The long nosed boy asked as he marveled at the gun in his hands. He pushed the button on the side and it retracted back into its smaller portable state.

"It's a collapsible rifle, a very expensive and complex gun popular amongst snipers in the New World." Buggy explained as he poured himself another cup of tea. "It has excellent range, is easily transportable, and is extremely customizable. The guns magazine allows you to load customizable shells along with typical round shot which makes it able to shoot all sorts of things aside from normal bullets."

"Wow, how do you know all of that?" Usopp asked as he marveled at the weapon in his hands.

"I traveled the Grand line in my youth." He answered simply. "I also happened to know the man who invented that type of gun. He was a sharpshooter on the pirate ship I served on. After our voyage was over he went to the New World and began to craft and sell replicas of the guns he used. The guys probably living like a king since each of those rifles sells for a small fortune." Buggy added with a bit of jealousy in his voice.

"Did you say fortune?" Nami asked, suddenly appearing next to Usopp. "Usopp I was wondering if you could let me see that gun for a moment…please?" She purred as she put on a look of innocence while at the same time shoving out her cleavage a bit.

Usopp didn't fall for it. "Oi Back off you harlot, this gun is my birthright!" He yelled as he yanked the gun away from Nami's grasping hands.

"HARLOT?!" Nami's gaze turned deadly as she stared down the long nosed teen. "I'll have you know I'm as pure and innocent as a maiden can be. Isn't that right guys?" She asked as she turned to her friends.

"Meh." Everyone answered simultaneously.

"EXCUSE ME?!" Nami yelled as she turned to her crew who began to back off from their angry navigator.

"Let's calm down and see what else is in the chest." Usopp offered in an attempt to calm everyone down and change the subject. He looked through the bottom of the chest and found plenty of ammo but he also found two flintlock pistols. One was made of a dark metal with obsidian and the other was made of shiny metal and Ivory. "These look just like the rifle, I'm guessing they must be paired up with it."

"Do you even know how to use a gun?" Zoro asked as he gazed at the weapons. "you don't seem the type who would get into a gunfight very often."

All eyes turned to Usopp who looked decidedly uncomfortable. "I'm a master marksman with a slingshot but I'm sure I can use a gun just as well even if I dislike the smell of gunpowder." He admitted. "It has always been my dream to be a warrior of the sea like my father. So I'll definitely take this with me when I decide to set off to sea like him. Although I think I'll stick to my slingshot for the most part."

That statement made Luffy extremely happy. "In that case you should join my crew. I might be a bounty hunter right now but once I get enough money I plan on setting out as a pirate."

That bit surprised Usopp but he overcame his surprise quickly. After the craziness of today's events Luffy could reveal he was a dinosaur and he would believe it. "Can I be captain?" Usopp asked as he thought about the excitement of setting out on the grand seas and fulfilling his dream of being a true warrior.

"No." Everyone chorused together which made the boy hang his head.

"Worth a shot." Usopp muttered sadly at his failed attempt to become a real captain. "Well Luffy you delivered this chest to me and by doing so gave me closure I never thought possible. Knowing my father is out on the sea and sailing in the Grand Line makes me crave the same type of life. Once I get my affairs in order I'll gladly join you."

"Welcome to the crew." Luffy said as he shook Usopp's hand. "So what affairs do you have to get in order anyway?"

Usopp's previously happy demeanor evaporated in an instant. "There's a wealthy girl living on this island in a huge mansion. About a year ago her parents died while out on a voyage and almost simultaneously the girl came down with a horrible wasting sickness. She has numerous servants and a great doctor tending to her everyday but she isn't getting better." He explained, all his previous bravado gone as his thoughts drifted to Kaya.

"That's awful, I'm sorry to hear that." responded Luffy sympathetically. "I'm guessing she's your friend and you want to help her?"

Usopp shook his head sadly. "I don't think anyone can help her. I used to go to her window every day to tell her stories about grand adventures in order to raise her spirits. It seemed to be working for a while but she became so sick that I believe my presence caused more harm than good." He remembered how she used to laugh and thoroughly enjoy his stories. But now she was so sick that he was afraid getting her excited would hasten her demise.

Shaking those thoughts from his head he forged on. "She is also the only person on the island with a ship suitable to your needs." He said, glancing around the room at all his guests. "All other ships are small vessels for fishing or leisure, only she has one that could be suitable for a pirate ship."

Nami didn't seem so sure. "Is it really okay to ask her though?" She questioned, the thought of asking a dying girl if they could have her ship seemed to be in bad taste. "We can always try another island, if we asked her now it would seem like we were taking advantage of her."

"She's a childhood friend and has even offered me the ship in the past." Usopp said, which surprised the rest of the group. "During our numerous talks I told her about my father and how he was a pirate. She would often offer me her ship so that I could go out to sea and find him. I always refused since I didn't want to leave her side and I wouldn't be able to steer a ship of that size by myself. I think she would rather the ship be in our hands then simply tied up in the harbor and forgotten about."

Luffy felt strange about asking a dying girl for her ship but the least they could do was visit her. "If she doesn't mind it the least we can do is ask. I know she's rich but we can at least offer to pay her for it so it doesn't seem like we are a bunch of vultures trying to make off with her wealth."

Seeing that there were no objections Luffy turned to his new companion.

"Alright Usopp lead the way."

* * *

"Thank you for the medicine Klahadore." Kaya said gratefully as she laid back into her bed. She was a pretty girl with brown eyes and light blond hair, the only thing marring her beauty was her obviously sickly complexion.

"No need to thank me Mistress, it's my pleasure to serve you." Klahadore said as he took away a tray of medicine from the girl's nightstand. He was a tall man with glasses and slicked back black hair. His expression was humble and pleasant, but the second he turned away from her it became cold and neutral. _'Indeed, there is no need to thank me. If anything I should be thanking you. Soo everything you own will be mine.'_

Klahadore chuckled as he entered the safety of his small room. "After three years of hell it's almost all mine. I've really outdone myself with this plan. Freeing myself from the shackles of being Captain Kuro was one thing, but this is on an entirely different level of brilliant."

After years at sea as a pirate, Kuro had grown tired of the harsh lifestyle. He was a brilliant man and had a plan for any scenario he could face but events happened that made staying out on the sea impossible.

It all started with the Goa Kingdom massacre, a bunch of nobles and celestial dragons being killed in the middle of the safest of the blue seas was a wake-up call to the entire world. The world government had beefed up security around the east blue and all other blue seas. They couldn't take marines away from the grand line so they created a radical new idea, they allowed privateers to become an official branch of their military.

Privately owned vessels given letters from the government allowing them to openly attack pirates and any organization deemed an enemy of the world government. It was a clever way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors as war resources. They were paid commissions based on how many enemy vessels sank and privateers were allowed to keep ninety percent of the plunder they got from pirates. The only thing they were required to do was avoid attacking civilians and give their services to the government if there was ever a war.

Between a more diligent marine force, bounty hunters and privateers Kuro had to take even more drastic measures in order to survive, he sacrificed things he could never get back. He thought he was doomed to a life on the run until finally his brilliant mind came up with the plan he was executing today.

He created the façade of Klahadore, a diligent and mild mannered butler serving a wealthy family. After ensuring that Kaya's parents had an _accident_ at sea due to their vessel having catastrophic failure half way during the voyage he became the sole guardian of a young girl.

After that it was easy enough to slip a small amount of specialized poison into her morning tea, not enough to create a major effect but enough that over time the girl's strength would dissipate and her body would grow weaker. It replicated the effects of a wasting sickness perfectly. He also ensured that any drugs that were given to Kaya were altered so that they didn't have any positive effects.

Now all he had to do was wait. Jango would be arriving today, officially he was a hypnotist who would be attempting alternative and natural medical treatment on Kaya. Apparently such things were becoming popular in some areas that didn't trust official medicine. But his real purpose would be to hypnotize Kaya into rewriting her will, to include 'Klahadore' as the main beneficiary. After that he would give Kaya a specialized poison so that she died in her sleep. No one would question it, and the villagers would be none the wiser.

It was a perfect plan.

Of course it had many risks but he had backup plans, some better the others. The main issue was what to do with his old crew. They had no real involvement in his plan beyond Jango using his hypnotism. But they were a loose end regardless. His initial idea was to have them attack the village, slaughtering its residents. Then he could kill them off and make it seem like they killed each other after fighting over the loot. But the slaughter of the village would attract marines, something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

So he promised them once he was in charge of Kaya's fortune he would use the money to pull strings and get them instated as official privateers. A lie if there ever was one. Once he had his fortune he would lure them somewhere and kill them. But it was funny to imagine their eyes when they realized their hopes for a better life were a complete lie.

Kuro walked over to his bathroom and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He was the perfect actor, he almost deceived himself sometimes. The man in the mirror was the perfect representation of patience and kindness. His plan would work, never before had even one of them failed.

He looked at his reflection and his usual black eyes turned a deadly yellow and his pupils turned into slits. "And of course if all else fails Ill simply kill everyone." He said to himself, he let out a tired sigh and watched as his eyes turned back to their usual black.

"The things I'm willing to do for peace of mind…"

* * *

Luffy and his group made their way through the village with Usopp as their guide. Many villagers paused their daily activities and watched as the group of strangers walked through town. Some of them even freaked out and ran out of their way when they saw Mohji riding Richie.

Eventually Usopp led them around to the side of a mansion since the main gate was guarded. He explained that as Kaya's sickness grew greater the head butler had beefed up security in an attempt to keep people such as himself away.

"Kaya! Kaya are you there?" Usopp called out as he went up to her bedroom window. The window opened revealing the young woman who leaned out of the window.

"Usopp, it's been several days! I was worried you weren't going to visit me anymore." The girl called out happily. She looked behind the boy and saw the strange assortment of people he brought with him. "Are these some friends you made on one of your adventures? Is that giant lion?" She asked as she gazed at the group assembled on her lawn.

"They are friends of mine. I have a favor to ask you but first I have so much I wish to tell you." Usopp said as he recounted the day's events and all the things he learned about his father. He told her about his father's letter, how his friend's need of a ship and how he intended to set out to sea in earnest to become a great warrior and one day find his father. Kaya listened to every word and her smile grew as Usopp became more excited and animated in his story telling.

"That's amazing." Kaya said, some coloring returning to her pale face. "Of course you can have my ship for your adventure. I doubt I'll be needing it…" her voice grew soft and her expression sad. Usopp saw this and immediately walked up to the window and grasped her hand in a comforting way.

"You'll get better Kaya, you're a strong girl." Usopp said as he gazed into her sad eyes. "I'll be traveling around the entire world, I'm sure there's a doctor or some kind of medicine that can cure you. Once I find it I'll bring it back. You just need to hang in there."

Kaya smiled but her eyes remained sad. "Usopp…I've read every medical book that money can buy, there's nothing that can be done. I've tried every medicine the doctors here could make and it hasn't had any effect on me, I doubt Ill last another month."

"Don't say that, your strong I know you can keep fighting this disease."

Everyone was watching the exchange silently, not willing to make so much as a noise for fear of interrupting Usopp and Kaya's emotional talk. In the end it was someone else who ruined the emotional moment.

"What the hell is going on here? Why are there a bunch of ruffians trespassing on this estate?" Kuro demanded in an authoritative tone. "Mistress please return to bed I will get rid of these unsightly individuals at once."

"No Klahadore, they are friends of mine. They simply came here to make a request." Kaya pointed out in an attempt to soothe her overprotective butler's anger.

Klahadore shook his head. "More likely they are a bunch of vultures trying to take advantage of you. Stay silent Mistress, I will deal with them."

Luffy decided to step in. "We aren't vultures, we simply need a large ship. I'm not looking for handouts, we have money and are willing to pay for it."

Klahadore looked the boy over and shook his head. "I doubt an unwashed man such as yourself could afford the ship we have, it is a large vessel that one of the servants has worked many years to complete. Now please leave before I call the guards. Bad enough that the son of a filthy pirate is here, I won't allow any more trash to linger on this estate."

"What did you say about my father?" Usopp growled as glared at the butler. He was about to walk up and confront the man but Luffy placed a hand on the long nosed boys shoulder.

"Don't bother Usopp, there's no point in talking to a man with his head so far up his ass the lump in his throat is his nose." Luffy said as he looked at the man before him. "You know who your father is, you don't have to prove anything."

A tense silenced lingered over both groups until Buggy walked forward. All this time he had been staring at Klahadore with a look of absolute scrutiny. The black suited butler seemed to notice the man's stare and turned to confront him. "I want all of you to leave immediately, and what the hell are you looking at you piece of trash?" He said, regarding Buggy's stare.

Buggy didn't break eye contact with the man. "I know you…" Buggy said as he regarded the man's appearance.

All the color drained from Klahadore's face _. 'There's no way he could know, I faked my death years ago. Who would bother remembering my face?'_ He mastered himself in a moment. "I doubt we've ever met, I have never associated with people like you before."

Buggy ignored his comment and a second later his eyes widened. "Of course you're that rookie who was hogging the spotlight all those years ago!" Buggy yelled, making everyone regard him curiously. "Your Kuro of a hundred plans, I would recognize that cocky face anywhere!"

Buggy didn't remember things all that well, but there was one thing he never forgot and it was a grudge. Years ago he was the most feared pirate in East blue with a bounty of ten million beli, a high amount for an ocean with the average bounty of three million. All that changed overnight when Kuro came around who had a bounty of sixteen million beli eclipsing Buggy's fame. Many pirates had come along with higher bounties since, but Buggy never forgot that arrogant rookie who first stole the spotlight from him.

Klahadore or rather Kuro felt his entire world shatter in a moment. All his years of meticulous planning came crashing down. It was a testament to his levelheadedness that he managed to keep a straight face.

"You must be a mistaking. I've lived here for three years as a humble servant of this household, and before that I was a bookkeeper aboard a merchant vessel." Kuro said in hopes of convincing them that his alias was real.

Kaya, who had been watching the entire exchange decided to pitch in. "That's right. Klahadore has served my family for years. There must be some sort of mistake."

Luffy had summoned a book from his darkness and was skimming through it and finally found the page. "Here it is, in my old bounty hunting binder. I always collected wanted posters for when I set out to sea as a bounty hunter." He pulled out the poster and held it up. It showed a perfect picture of Kuro adjusting his glasses while his hands were covered in blood. "Either you have a twin you never knew about or you're a pirate who managed to fake his own death. Guess which explanation I'm leaning towards?"

Kuro was silent as he tried to find a way out of the situation, he had numerous plans for this scenario and all of them ended in bloodshed.

"Is this true Klahadore?" Kaya asked in a hushed toned as she felt hot tears leave her eyes. The thought that a man she had considered family had been lying to her all this time broke her heart. But looking at the poster it was impossible not to compare the two, even the way the man adjusted his glasses in the picture was a perfect match to Klahadore's habit.

"Of course not Mistress." Kuro managed to say after several seconds of deep thinking. "You know me, I'm not a pirate, and clearly this is a case of mistaken identity. The world is a large place, everyone is bound to have doppelgangers."

No one looked convinced, not even Kaya who was looking for any explanation to absolve her servant.

It was Nami who came up with an ideal solution.

"Well it is possible it's a case of mistaken identity." Nami chimed in as she looked Kuro up and down. "The only way to know for sure is to call the marines. They are excellent at doing background checks. Surely Klahadore here had a life before coming here. Friends, family or even fellow sailors on that merchant ship he claimed to work on. There has to be someone who can vouch for his existence before arriving on this island."

Kaya liked that idea and turned to her servant to voice her agreement for it but the pure look of murder on his face made her stay silent.

"You aren't going to be calling anyone little girl, in fact none of you are leaving this estate alive." Kuro promised in a deadly tone as he drew a short sword from the inside of his coat. He would have preferred his signature cat claws but they were hidden away in his room.

Luffy chucked. "So you've finally shown your true colors eh? A former pirate captain who decided to settle in as a butler. The marines will be more than happy to reactivate your bounty once we bring you in."

"Settle in as a butler?" Kuro questioned with a voice dripping with venom. "I never settled for anything foolish child much less being a servant. I had planned to steal this young girl's fortune for myself." He gestured to Kaya who could only watch in horror as the man she trusted showed his true colors. "I've been poisoning her over the last year, but it looks like that was time wasted. I should have simply faked the will and made sure she sank along with her parents on their last voyage."

"My parents…?" Kaya whispered, not believing what she was hearing. "You killed my parents?"

Usopp had heard enough as his anger rose to unheard of levels upon hearing the man confess to murdering Kaya's parents. "You bastard!" He yelled as he raised his slingshot and shot a hard metal pellet that was aimed for the man's head. Kuro simply titled his head to the side and avoided the shot with practiced ease.

Kuro let out a tired sigh. "It will be difficult but I can still make this all work. I'll tell the villagers that a group of robbers broke into the estate and killed Kaya. I then heroically swopped in and avenged her by killing her murderers. Ill simply forge her will myself. It's not an elegant plan but it will work."

Kuro got into a fighting stance and prepared for combat. "Creeping Cat!" He immediately disappeared from sight and appeared next to Buggy. "Since you started all this you die first." He quickly swung his blade in a horizontal strike that cleaved Buggy's head clean off. Instead of an enormous spray of blood like he was expecting, the body instead fell apart into numerous pieces.

"You're the one who gets to die a flashy death first!" Buggy's head yelled as it floated in the air and glared at the man who had attacked him. "Murder festival!"

All of Buggy's body parts sprouted a blade that he had been hiding within his body and began spinning. The bladed limbs immediately closed in on Kuro who was caught completely by surprise.

Despite his surprise he was a quick thinker. He used his amazing speed to dodge the attacks but not before several of the blades cut his arms and legs. "Stealth Foot!" Kuro used his speed to disappear from sight and reappeared on the top of the mansions roof. He stood on the roof with a calm expression and looked down at the group with an analytical eyes. "Devil Fruit user eh? From the looks of it a mere paramecia ability, I will simply-"

"Gravity Barrage!"

Kuro had to leap out of the way as several cannonballs flew at him and struck the area he had been previously standing. Luffy had his palm facing the former butler and was prepared to fire another volley but was stopped by Usopp who grabbed the boy's hand. "Don't do that! You could bring down the entire mansion on Kaya and her other servants!"

"Oh crap, sorry!" Luffy said apologetically as he called back his darkness. "I can't do much without damaging this place, it's up to the rest of you!"

Kuro heard the sound of rapidly approaching steps. He turned and saw Zoro running at him with all three of his swords drawn. The green haired swordsman was running across the mansions roof at top speed, easily dodging the holes left behind from his captain's previous attack. He raised his blades and swung them at the former captain.

"Demon Slash!"

Kuro brought up his own blade to block the blow but Zoro's swords simply cleaved the small short sword in half and if it wasn't for Kuro's quick reflexes he would have been cleaved along with his blade. Zoro prepared to deliver another series of swipes with his sword but Kuro was already in the process of running away.

"Stealth Foot!" Kuro disappeared from the roof and reappeared on the ground, he was preparing to counter attack but was stopped when he heard a loud sound.

"Two Sword Style: Talon Strike!"

Kuro looked up and saw Cabaji jump off the top of the mansion with a sword clutched in each hand. He was falling with grace and had the swords positioned so that when he landed they would slice Kuro into four separate pieces. Kuro didn't have time to use his stealth foot so he simply rolled away from his spot which made Cabaji cleave the empty space where he had once stood.

He didn't have time to counter attack since a loud roar sounded through the air and he had to dodge once more as Richie charged at him while Mohji rode on the beasts back. The Lion turned and made a vicious swipe at Kuro with its enormous claws.

Kuro ducked under the swipe and winced as he saw the creatures claw cleave through one of the estates many stone statues, it was obvious this wasn't an ordinary lion. He was prepared to once again use his speed to escape but the lion's rider had other plans.

"It's been awhile since I last used this, I hope I'm not rusty." Mohji said as he pulled a whip from his satchel. With the skill of an expert he swung the whip in Kuro's direction and it wrapped itself around the man's arm. Kuro winced as he felt tiny blades enter his arm and he saw that the whip had shards of sharp metal embedded in it.

Kuro struggled which only served to embed the blades deeper into his flesh. Seeing that he was vulnerable everyone began to close in on him. Nami pulled out her pistol and unloaded several rounds at Kuro while Usopp did the same with his slingshot. Kuro quickly flicked his free hand and a small blade appeared from the inside of his sleeve. He cut the whip that was holding him, causing Mohji to lose his balance and fall off Richie. Allowing Kuro to barely dodge the bullets and pellets that flew at him.

Kuro took advantage of this and he quickly used his stealth foot to appear at the other end of the estates lawn, giving him some breathing room and time to analyze the situation.

Luffy's crew had managed to regroup and were getting ready to face off against their enemy. Luffy summoned darkness around himself waiting for an opportunity to strike while his companions also got ready for their next attack.

Kuro's eyes turned vicious and he considered going all out. While he considered his chances of winning to be extremely high, he knew with so much on the line he couldn't take any risks. He let out a tired sigh. "It seems you have some skill, but it won't matter. You really should have let me kill you all." He adjusted his glasses and glared at his adversaries. "Because now I have to eliminate every single human life one this island to ensure that my identity is never known."

A second later he used his speed to disappear from the clearing leaving everyone else to wonder where he went.

Several of Kaya's servants came running out of the building to see what the commotion was and saw the entire mansions grounds looked like a warzone.

"What happened here?!" The head servant by the name of Merry called out. His eyes were suddenly drawn to the crowd of people on the estates lawn. "Did you people do this?"

"It wasn't them Merry, it was Klahadore." Everyone turned to see Kaya descending the mansions steps slowly and with noticeable strain.

"Mistress you mustn't exert yourself in such a way!" Merry exclaimed as he watched the girl struggle with the last step. She lost her footing and began to fall but Usopp was there in a second to catch her.

"Kaya, you need to rest." Usopp said as he picked up the girl in his arms. He noticed that she was far too light and she was visibly sweating. He pulled her up into his arms and held her bridal style and began to walk into the mansion. "Let's get you settled in and figure out what that bastard did to you."

Everyone followed the pair into the mansion except for Luffy who stood out on the lawn for some time. It had been a long time since any enemy had evaded him in such a way and despite the dangers ahead he couldn't help but let a smile grace his lips as he followed after his crew into the mansion.

* * *

Kuro sprinted through the village's trees and down its northern slope at speeds so fast it would be difficult to even see him. He couldn't help but curse his luck and let out a deep sigh of frustration.

"Three years of careful planning down the drain. My beautiful and graceful plan is now in ruins. Luckily I still have my backup plan."

Eventually he reached the hidden cove where the Bezan Black, his former crew's pirate ship was anchored. He used his speed and agility to jump off a nearby cliff and landed safely on the deck of the ship, shocking many of the ship's crew who backed off in terror when they saw him.

"Where is Jango?" Kuro demanded in a tone that showed them he was out of patience. Several crew members ran off to find their captain and thirty seconds later Jango came up on deck.

"Why are you here Kuro? I'm not due to be in the village for another hour." Jango pointed out as he greeted his former captain.

Kuro began to walk to the front of the ship and gestured Jango to follow him, which the hypnotist did.

"The plan has changed Jango, I need you and the entire crew assembled and ready to attack the village."

"Attack the village?" Questioned Jango disbelievingly. "But In thought the plan was to hypnotize the girl then let her die of her disease? Attacking a village was never part of the plan."

Kuro glared at the hypnotist. "Are you a pirate or a clergyman? Raiding a village shouldn't be difficult for you and this crew. Unless you've all become weaklings since I left?

Jango glared at his former captain. "We're stronger than ever, we have to be to survive in this ocean these days. But attacking a sleepy village of that size isn't even worth it."

"Do you think I care whether or not it's worth it? This is what's necessary to gain the girls wealth. Without that money I won't have the influence to instate you as official privateers. So either do this or leave empty handed."

Jango grimaced, without this job he and his crew would be broke. A crew without money for necessities would quickly turn to mutiny and with him being captain it would be him walking the plank.

"Fine, we'll head out at nightfall. But you had better not change anything else about this deal and keep your end of the bargain." Jango warned as he turned away and prepared to assemble his men.

* * *

"So what's the plan?" Usopp asked at everyone as they all sat in the mansions dining room. Luffy, his crew, Kaya, and her servants were all sitting around the large table and discussing what they would do about Kuro and his promise to kill everyone in the village.

"Call the marines?" offered Merry. "It's their job to protect us from pirates."

Kaya shook her head. "We can try but the nearest marine base is two days sailing from here. By that time the entire town will be gone."

"Then we fight." Luff said without a moment's hesitation. "If his reputation is too be believed he was a dangerous man with a large crew, which makes his threat of slaughtering the village very real."

Buggy nodded. "He had a large ship with over a hundred men a few years ago. There's no doubt he will bring them to bear in the fight ahead."

"What about the villagers?" Nami worried as she thought about what happened to her own islands villages when they incurred Arlong's wrath. "We don't have enough people to protect the entire village so we need them in one central location we can defend."

"It would be nice if they didn't have to know." Usopp pondered. "This village is very peaceful, and the thought of a pirate attack threatens that peace. Can't we just defend the two main slopes in the village? They are the only way of getting off of the shoreline and past the high cliffs."

"That's rather naïve." Luffy responded as he rolled the plan over in his head. "We can't risk splitting everyone up. So where can we keep the villagers so that they are safe?"

"We can use my mansion." Kaya offered. "The village is a small one and this mansion is big enough for the villagers to hide in until the fighting is done. It has high stone walls and only one gate."

Zoro nodded. "If we protect the gate the pirates can't get through to the people. All we need is a couple people with rifles stationed at the windows and anyone who tries to climb the fence will be gunned down."

"There aren't many people here with guns." Merry informed as he thought about the plan. "We are a peaceful village that mainly exports maple syrup and crops. Only a handful of people have guns much less know how to use them."

"We just need a few watching the sides of the mansion, my crew will handle the rest." Luffy turned to Kaya. "Get all the villagers into the mansion and barricade all the doors. Leave the rest to us."

Everyone got up and began preparing for the battle ahead.

* * *

The village was evacuated quickly, thanks to how small the population was. Merry and Kaya's other servants went through the village warning them of pirates as well as the need to get to the mansion. Most of the villagers thought it was a strange practical joke but after some convincing from Merry every single one of them took the news seriously.

The entire village was busy as people packed their valuables and made for the Kaya's mansion. After several hours the village was emptied of every single man, woman, and child.

The mansion itself was now a fortress, all the windows had been barricaded with the exception of the top floor windows which each had a man with a rifle stationed at them. The lower floors and cellars of the mansion were filled with women, children, and the elderly who were hiding while all the other rooms had armed men milling about anxiously.

Kaya laid in her bedroom being tending to by the town doctor. After today's revelations the doctor was examining her and analyzing the poisons they found in Kuro's room as well as the medicine the man had been giving her. The doctor was not pleased with what he saw.

"If I ever see that man I'll have to break my Hippocratic Oath." The doctor growled as he checked over the poison in front of him. "Poisoning you in such a way over the course of a year…it's a treachery of the worse kind. The fact that he's been sabotaging the medicine I prescribed you makes me want to go at him with my medical scalpel."

Kaya simply nodded, it was still hard to believe the man who had been her family's faithful servant for so many years had done this to her.

"Assuming I don't kill him first." Usopp said without hesitation. The boy hadn't left Kaya's side after the days revelations. Which was something Kaya appreciated. She reached out and grabbed his hand in an attempt to calm him down.

"It's over Usopp, thanks to you and your friends the truth is finally known." She turned to the doctor. "What type of poison is it doctor? Will I die?" She asked softly.

"No you won't, he used an extremely weak poison that was meant to mimic the effects of a wasting sickness. Shortness of breath, loss of appetite, and loss of energy were the poisons purpose. I've found another poison in here that was clearly meant to finish you off." He said as he held up a separate little vial. "As it is once your body has flushed out the poison in your system, you will make a full recovery."

"How long will it take?" She asked, excited at the prospect of being healthy once more.

"Well the main thing is regaining your strength. Your muscles will take some time to fully recover, although from looking at them now I can see you've been doing basic exercises while in bed."

Kaya nodded. "I tried to exercise my arms and stretch my legs every day."

"It's hard to say how long it will take, it all depends on your willpower and strength. But your body should flush out all the poison in less than a week."

Relief flooded through her at those words. "That's wonderful, there so much that I wanted to do in life…" She looked at Usopp and felt her cheeks warm up. "Doctor could you give me some privacy? There something I wish to discuss with my friend here."

The doctor bid her goodbye and left the two of them alone. A minute of awkward silence passed as the two of them sat in the empty room. "You're going to fight aren't you?" Kaya asked, although she already knew the answer to the question.

Usopp nodded. "I have to, they want me to join their crew. I can't let them face Kuro alone." He said as he reached to his side and brought up his new weapons. After the day's events he decided to try out the guns his father had given him, he spent a good half hour shooting empty beer bottles behind the mansion while everyone got ready. The recoil took getting used to but he was confident he could shoot a gun as easily as he did his slingshot. "I've spent my entire life running from fights but this is one fight I won't run away from."

"Why not? I'm not saying you should run away but stay here and protect us. You can snipe from one of the windows. The battle will be chaotic and a sniper could easily get surrounded or shot, or stabbed, and all sorts of other things." She pointed out, worry punctuating her every word.

"I can't sit this one out…" He grabbed Kayas hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze. "Because for the first time in my life I have something worth fighting for."

With speed Usopp didn't think possible Kaya reached out and grabbed the back of his head and brought their faces together for a kiss. The kiss lasted for several seconds before they separated. Both of their faces were as red as tomatoes and they were both quiet for ten seconds until Kaya decided to break it.

"Promise me you'll come back."

"I promise." Usopp stated confidently. "I might lie a lot, but when I make a promise to someone I keep it." He got up and walked out to the door. He clutched the rifle in his hands and felt a strength he never knew existed, all the years of running away and being afraid melted away. He looked at the closed door to Kaya's room and promised himself he would not fail.

"My dad believes in me, and Kaya believes in me. Now it's time I start believing in myself."

* * *

"You guys ready for this?" Luffy asked as he looked at his crew. All of them were in front of the mansions gate. Ahead of them laid the village which looked like a ghost town without anyone in it.

Luffy, Zoro and Buggy were standing in the middle of the road that led to the mansion while Cabaji and Mohji watched their flanks. Nami and Usopp were to stay at the gate itself during the battle to use their ranged weapons to defeat any pirates that attempted to slip past the main fighters.

Zoro chuckled at his captain's question. "Hell yeah I'm ready. Ever since I joined you I've done nothing but sit around. It's about time we started getting into real fights." Zoro said, barely containing his excitement at fighting off a huge pirate crew.

"As much as I want to test out some of those sword techniques you taught me I was hoping the battle would be a bit…less intense." Cabaji muttered as he imagined fighting off a full strength pirate crew.

Mohji agreed with his companion's statement. "No kidding, if this crew is as big as we think then this will be a hard battle. Something easier to sharpen our teeth on would have been nicer."

Zoro laughed. "This is the best way to do it! Just like the best way to teach a kid to swim is to throw him into the deep end of the pool and forcing him to swim for his life."

"I feel sorry for any kids you have." responded Cabaji as he gazed to the north where the enemy would be coming from.

"Stop whining. Seven of us versus an enormous amount of pirates. What could be better?" Zoro questioned, as he imagined the fight ahead.

Buggy snorted as he listened to the swordsman's comment. "Don't be an idiot, we're heavily outnumbered. We should let our Logia using captain deal with this."

Zoro glared at the clown with a combination of contempt and disgust. "Keep away from me Buggy, I don't want to catch your cowardice."

"You calling me a coward you sword-brained pretty boy?" Buggy turned to Zoro and their faces were inches apart as they glared at each other. "If you want to find a glorious death by all means do so. That just means we have one less person to split treasure with."

"You want to repeat that again clown man?" Zoro asked as he drew his swords. "Because I could kick your ass right now."

Buggy laughed. "Ha! I'm a sectioned man thanks to my devil fruit. Which makes your sword attacks as useless as a pedal powered wheel chair."

Zoro lunged at Buggy and the two of them began trading blows. Zoro cut Buggy up only for the clown to reform himself and attempt to cut up Zoro with his daggers which Zoro simply blocked with his extreme skill.

Luffy got in the middle of them to stop of the fight. "Oi we got enough to worry about without you two-" He was cut off when both men who had been lunging at each other collided with their captain. Luffy felt Zoro's sword hilt strike his chest and one of Buggy's fists strike his face.

"If you want to fight so much, Fine! I'm kicking both your asses!" Luffy yelled as the three of them began to wrestle in a giant ball of limbs as punches and kicks flew.

From the windows of the mansion numerous villagers watched as the people who would be their only line of defense beat each other up.

"We're doomed aren't we?" one of them asked as he watched the group roll around fighting, kicking up dust and blocking most of the fighting from view.

"Probably." Another answered in a depressed tone.

Nami walked up to the group and got out her staff. "Excuse me boys, would please STOP FIGHTING!" She yelled as she delivered a blow to each of their heads, breaking up the fight instantly. "Save it for the enemy. We have enough to worry about without you idiots wasting precious energy!"

While the three men nursed the bruises on their heads, Usopp was keeping an eye out for their enemies. "It's almost sundown and I don't see anything, this can't be good." He said as he scanned the horizon.

"Keep an eye out." Nami ordered. "They probably want to wait for the cover of darkness. Luckily there isn't a cloud in the sky and the wind is calm, so we should have a bright crescent moon to illuminate this place." Nami observed as she gazed up at the sky.

Usopp checked over his weapons for the hundredth time. His rifle was strapped on his back and he had his two pistols and solitary slingshot on a gun belt. He was currently inspecting the bands on his slingshot to make sure they were strong yet flexible.

"You seriously still using that thing?" Nami asked as she looked at the slingshot in Usopp's hands. "Even though you have a powerful rifle?"

Usopp scoffed at her quick dismissal of his weapon. "I plan on using my new gun but a slingshot is still useful for non-lethal fights, it can also be useful if I run out of ammunition and need to improvise on the fly. Not to mention the fact that it's extremely silent, if we ever find ourselves in a situation where stealth is key I can use this slingshot to silently take down an enemy whereas guns make a loud bang."

Nami conceded his point and turned to her own weapons and frowned. She had two pistols she got back in shells town and her trusty staff. She was beginning to feel a bit insecure. She was broken from her thought by Usopp shouting.

"I see something coming from the north, looks like torches!" He called out and pointed towards the north.

Luffy looked in the direction Usopp was pointing and saw the bright glow of numerous torches coming over the horizon. It looked like a large army was approaching.

"What's the plan captain?" Zoro asked, barely containing the excitement in his voice.

Luffy smiled.

"That should be obvious Zoro, we kick their asses."

* * *

Kuro couldn't help but feel enraged when he saw the village had been emptied. He knew where all the people were with one glimpse at Kaya's mansion, his future home. All of the gas lamps that riddled the estate appeared to be turned on and numerous torches and fires were burning, illuminating the night and no doubt there to make sneaking up on the place harder.

It wouldn't help them.

He had no intention of doing any sneaking. He would have his crew flood every single corridor of that mansion with blood. _'I'm going to have to replace all of the carpets if I flood the place with blood, then again that entire mansion needs a redesign anyway. I'll have to hire an interior decorator once things settle down, its previous owners had no taste.'_ He thought to himself as he enjoyed his dark musings.

He shook himself from his thoughts on interior design to appreciate the crew Jango had assembled. When he had left the Black Cat pirates several years ago the only crew members of any worth were Sham and Buchi. That didn't seem to have changed, but they would serve their purpose. He simply needed men to throw at the enemy so that he could finish them off.

His plan would succeed, no matter what the cost.

* * *

Luffy stood up from his seat and focused on the enemy in front of him. He wasn't great at counting but he would guess there was a hundred of them before his eyes.

The enemy a fair distance away from the gates, far away enough to be out of range of accurate shooting but well within speaking distance if a person spoke loudly enough.

Kuro was at the front of his men with Jango and the rest of his lieutenants next to him. He had his signature cat claws on and he flexed them and enjoyed the feeling of their weight, luckily Jango had kept an extra set of them in his old room.

"I will now explain what must be done." Kuro began as he turned to his men. "It's time to do what we came here to do, I want every single man woman and child slaughtered. There is to be no quarter and no mercy whatsoever."

This didn't produce an agreeable effect on the black cat pirates who all turned to each other and started protesting.

"No mercy?"

"I thought we were just looting the place?"

"I didn't sign up for this to kill women and children, even I have _some_ standards!"

Jango walked up to Kuro and pointed an accusatory finger at the man. "This wasn't part of the deal! You said we were raiding this village and taking all the loot. You didn't say anything about slaughtering everyone here!"

Kuro glared at his feeble men. "Raiding implies killing. In order for my identity to be secret everyone must die."

"That's it, we are out of here." Jango said with finality. "Your plan has gone from bad to worse. The only person who was supposed to die was one sickly young girl who wouldn't even see her next winter. But now we're slaughtering entire villages?"

"Yeah, the marines will come down hard on us if we do this." Sham said as he thought about the consequences of mass slaughter. "They won't even bother sending us to prison, we'll just end up hanging from the gallows."

"I am not going to go swing for your idiotic bungling Kuro!" Buchi called out, pointing an accusatory finger at his former captain.

"Yeah you're not even our captain anymore!"

"You're not even a real pirate!"

"This isn't worth it, I'm heading back to the ship!"

Kuro felt his blood boiling beneath his skin and he felt like slaughtering every single person in sight but he resisted his urge for the sake of his plans. "Have you all forgotten how I punish those who don't obey my commands?" Kuro asked as he flexed his cat claws in a threatening fashion. "I would suggest you obey your captain and do as a say or else Ill slaughter every last one of you."

His threat seemed to have some effect but many of his men weren't budging.

"You mean you _were_ captain." Jango said stubbornly. "But when you left us three years ago I became captain. So right now you are a client who can't seem to keep his end of a business arrangement. So I'm terminating the contract right now, and don't even think about threatening us with death. You would have killed all those villagers by yourself if you were capable of it. You _need_ us."

Kuro looked deeply into the eyes of his former first mate. "Your right, I do need men to storm that mansion, but I don't need all of you. In fact I most certainly don't need you Jango." With blinding speed Kuro slashed his cat claws at Jango, causing numerous deep cuts to appear on the hypnotist's chest. Jango fell to the ground where he no longer moved, blood pooling beneath his body.

Using his inhuman speed Kuro appeared behind Sham and Buchi and put a clawed hand on each of their shoulders, allowing his bladed fingers to rest on their flesh. "Anyone else wish to defy me?" Kuro questioned as he looked at his crew. "Your choices are to go over there and slaughter everyone, or I can simply slaughter you here and now."

The Black Cat pirates self-preservation instincts overrode any moral qualms they might have had with Kuro's plans. He saw numerous men nodding and many giving vocal affirmations of their loyalty.

Seeing that the pirates were prepared to obey his commands Kuro pointed a clawed hand at the mansion. "Don't delay a second longer, kill everyone in that building. If you fail me you'll end up like Jango here."

With fear and threats of death spurring them on the black cat pirates drew their weapons and charged at the enemy.

Luffy and his crew had been watching the entire exchange, and while they were far away they could make out most of what occurred. Some of the group were even hoping that things would end without bloodshed, especially when it seemed like the pirates were going to abandon Kuro. However seeing Kuro kill a member of his crew and threaten the rest with death made it obvious that the night would end in bloodshed.

"Killing his own crew, that's just low." Luffy muttered as he looked at Kuro's distant form with disgust.

Zoro agreed. "Yeah that is low, but now I don't have any qualms about killing him or those who choose to follow him."

"Looks like the Black Cat Pirates use only bladed weapons." Buggy observed as he saw each enemy seemed to be armed with a sword or sharp cat themed weapon. "Looks like this will be a cakewalk for me."

Zoro laughed. "I guess that is good news for a coward like you." He said, ignoring Buggy's glare. "Even with your advantage I bet I can take out more of them then you."

"You're on! Loser has to pick up the tab at the next bar we go to."

"Deal."

"If you boys are done dick measuring we have a large group of pirates that have begun charging at us!" Nami yelled as she watched the horde of men draw closer.

Luffy turned to Usopp. "Do it now Usopp!" he ordered. The sniper nodded and pushed the button on the side of his new rifle. It extended out to its full size and he loaded a bullet into it and took aim.

"Incendiary shot." Usopp fired the gun and it sent a bullet soaring through the air at the Black Cat pirates. It didn't strike a single member of the crew instead it the ground in front of the enemy where a nearly invisible fuse was sticking out of the ground. It was a fuse connected to a keg of gunpowder, there were several buried in the ground around the mansion.

While Luffy was repulsed at the idea of using trickery like this and would have preferred to have a straight up fight he was convinced by his crew and the villagers that ensuring victory was the most important thing.

' _If you and your crew want to fight fair throughout your adventures that's fine, but there's more lives on the line then your own! Every man woman and child is relying on you to save them. If there's a way to increase the chances of winning by even once percent you must take it!'_ Kaya had argued, and his crew had agreed with that sentiment.

Luffy had always preferred straight up confrontations but he knew that sometimes fighting fair was a stupid Idea. If he was going to fight fair it would be when it was only his life on the line, otherwise he owed it to his crew and those around him to fight with every trick in the book.

He refocused on the battle and saw the fuse to the gunpowder Usopp had shot burn up and explode.

Chunks of earth flew up from the ground and a few unlucky pirates who had been near the explosion were sent flying and Luffy saw more than a few limbs soaring through the air. Before the enemy could even figure out what had happened Usopp was already aiming at his next targets.

' _Don't think about it, if you falter here Kaya and everyone else will die!'_ Usopp mentally screamed to himself as he did his best to ignore the sounds of tortured pain that filled the air. He unloaded several incendiary rounds and struck the rest of the powder keg fuses, the fuses burnt up quickly and exploded, shattering the front line of attackers and putting numerous enemies out of the fight.

The Black Cat Pirates attack line was shattered and their previously organized attack was gone. This gave Luffy and his crew the opportunity they needed to launch their attack.

Luffy charged straight down the middle, intent on reaching Kuro and kicking the man's ass. Zoro charged to the right by himself, while Buggy, Cabaji, and Mohji charged left. Nami and Usopp stayed by the gate to fight any enemies that slipped past their crew members.

Luffy's first move was to summon a large amount of darkness around his right fist as he drew closer to his enemies who were waiting for him with drawn blades. He reared his right fist back and punched the air in front of him. "Dark Fist!" The darkness around his arm shot out and turned into a giant dark fist that surged forward and crushed everything in its path with gravitational force.

Enemies flew out of the way or were simply pummeled by the fist of darkness that surged through them. It cleared a path to Kuro who was standing at the back of his forces adjusting his glasses.

"Nowhere to run now!" Luffy declared as he charged at the man, drawing his sabre and preparing to slice up the man.

Kuro got into a battle stance and smirked. "You took the words right out of my mouth."

"Black Sword Style: Gravity Sword!" Luffy blade became coated in darkness and he swung it in an arc at Kuro with the intention of cutting the man's head off.

Kuro responded by bringing up his cat claws and crossed them in front of him to block the attack. Luffy's blade met his claws which caused sparks to fly and the very earth beneath both of their feet to fly up around them. Kuro had to use all his strength to not fall over as he felt the strong force of the blow travelled through his blades and into his very bones.

"You're stronger then you look." Luffy grunted as he forced more power behind his blade, managing to make Kuro take a few steps back as the man pushed his cat claws as hard as he could against Luffy's sword. Metal sounded against metal at their crossing of blades as both tried to overpower the other.

"You haven't seen anything yet. I was raiding ships and slaughtering people before you were born!" Kuro pushed all his weight forward and managed to untangle his cat claws from Luffy's sword. "Stealth Foot!" he disappeared and reappeared behind Luffy. He was prepared to deliver a lethal strike on the boy but instead Luffy had already turned to meet him and was swinging his sword.

"Black Sword Style: Void Slash!" Luffy swung his dark sword at his opponent who barely had enough time to raise his blades in time to block the blow. The impact caused Kuro to wince as it took all his leg strength to avoid being sent flying away, even with his successful block he could feel the strain on his muscles as he had to fight back the power behind the boys blows with every ounce of his strength.

The two of them continued like this for a while. Kuro would use his speed to try and surprise Luffy but the boy had sharp eyes and always seemed to know where he was coming from. Kuro for his part couldn't match Luffy's strength or the force behind his blows so he settled for dodging the boy's attacks.

They danced around each other in a whirlwind of blades. Several of Kuro's men had tried to interfere and get a cheap shot on Luffy but all who had approached the two were caught in the crossfire between the two men and were quickly cut to pieces by either Luffy's blade or Kuro's indiscriminate slashing. The Black Cat pirates learned to quickly to avoid getting involved in the fight altogether.

"Stealth Foot!" Kuro leapt back in an attempt to gain some breathing room.

Seeing his enemy so far away Luffy decided to switch to a ranged attack. "Black Sword Style: Black Moon Slash!" Luffy swung his blade causing a crescent shaped blade of darkness to shoot out of the blade and head straight for Kuro.

Kuro once more tried to block the attack with his cat claws but the attack was too strong. The gravity behind the strike snapped his cat claws in half sending shred of metal flying all over the ground, rendering the once deadly cat claws completely useless.

Kuro stood still as he looked at his signature weapon laying in a broken heap and chuckled lightly as he removed the now useless claws from his hands. "You should have let me slice you up with those claws, it would have been a quick and relatively painless death."

Luffy stuck his tongue out at the other man. "You should have ran away when we figured out your stupid plan! Instead you're here getting your ass kicked." Luffy pointed out as he looked at the battered man, Kuro had numerous cuts and was noticeably disheveled. While all Luffy had were a few shallow scratches from a few lucky strikes Kuro had managed to get in with his cat claws.

Kuro chuckled at the boy's bravado. "You fool, I haven't been fighting at my full potential. I dislike using my full strength because of the indiscriminant damage and how hard it is to control myself. But now it looks like I have no choice."

He began to calmly take off his suit top and folded it neatly and placed it on the ground along with his glasses. He let out a tired breath and began to change. His eyes turned yellow and the pupils became slits. His muscles bulged, his leg muscles grew larger, and he grew a full foot in height.

"Pirate crews are named after their captain." Kuro grunted as he felt his entire body change. "Haven't you ever wondered why my crew is called the Black Cat Pirates?" Black fur replaced his skin, teeth became fangs, and hands became claws as Kuro revealed his form.

As the transformation finished Luffy saw a seven foot tall hybrid form of a cat and man. With sharp teeth, bulging muscles, and sharp claws. "A Zoan fruit user eh?" Luffy observed as he looked at Kuro's new form.

"That's right, I ate the Cat Cat Fruit: Panther Model." He growled as he flexed his deadly claws. "Just one of the many things I was forced to do to survive on this ocean. It cost me greatly but it seems it was worth it. Shall we begin the real fight brat?"

Luffy got into a battle stance.

"Let's dance little pussycat."

* * *

Zoro was glad to finally be fighting again.

While Luffy charged forward he had charged in his own direction solo. He cleaved his way through the enemy like a hot knife through butter, easily cutting the enemy pirates. It was his first real battle since joining up with Luffy and he wanted to make sure he hadn't gotten rusty.

It was a good thing too, since the man who would be the greatest swordsman in the world needed battles to become better. But so far his captain had done all of the fighting which had made the adventure really boring for him thus far.

While Zoro wouldn't describe himself as bloodthirsty he did enjoy a good fight and that's what he was getting here.

Zoro blocked the strike of one enemy with the sword in his mouth, and blocked two others with the ones in his hands. Zoro used all his strength to push them away, making them lose their balance. "Demon Slash!" he quickly darted from one to the other slicing each of them with his three blades, blood spouted from their sword cuts and fell to the ground.

Zoro heard someone coming at him from behind and quickly turned around and blocked the incoming attack. He blocked at attack of a green haired man who was suing clawed gloves as his primary weapon.

"Get him now Buchi!" Sham yelled as he used his clawed hands to hold on to both of Zoro's swords.

From the corner of his eye Zoro saw a large figure flying at him and felt a powerful punch land on his side, it sent him flying away and he had to roll into his fall in order to avoid injury. Luckily he managed to keep his swords in his possession.

He stared down his two opponents and couldn't help but let out a chuckle at their ridiculous appearance. One was a thing guy with green hair while the other was a fat man with pain smeared on his face. If it wasn't for the throbbing pain in his side which proved their strength he would have underestimated them.

They two of them charged at the lone swordsman who had to leap out of the way of Buchi's powerful strikes and Sham's rabid slashing claws. Both parties exchanged blows for a while as their battle became a whirlwind of blades slashing at one another and sending sparks flying through the air.

' _Damn Kuro for killing Jango, now we can't fight to our full potential.'_ Sham thought as he tried to rend the flesh of his enemy with his cat claws.

Buchi had similar thoughts as he tried to beat Zoro up. His strikes could easily crush tone and earth but the swordsman was moving too fast.

They did the dance for a while, with Zoro dodging and blocking their endless amount of strikes until he saw the fat one tiring out which gave him the opening he needed.

Right when the two enemies were running together to strike him simultaneously Zoro leapt into action. He drew both of his swords up over his mouth blade. "Tiger Hunt!" He cut forward with all three blades in a descending slash.

Sham and Buchi could only look in horror as the saw the blades draw near and the last thing they saw in this world was the image of a giant tiger behind Zoro as his swords ended their lives.

Zoro turned to the rest of the black cat pirates who were around him and saw them all cowering as they witnessed the death of their lieutenants.

"Who's next?"

* * *

While Luffy and Zoro were content to fight alone. Buggy, Cabaji, and Mohji preferred fighting as a team so that they could watch each other's backs.

When the fighting began Buggy led the charge fearlessly due to his immunity to blades. Numerous pirates charged at Buggy with their bladed weapons and chopped him into numerous pieces. Buggy simply laughed the attacks off and counter attacked with his own bladed weapons.

"Time to start a murder festival!" He exclaimed happily, his hands, feet, and even mouth had a dagger clutched in them. Buggy used them to full advantage as he went around stabbing, slicing, and maiming numerous enemies. He didn't have to stop or block his enemy's attacks as he simply took them all head on and dealt a savage counter attack.

Eventually the enemy pirates realized they couldn't do anything to Buggy and began to keep their distance. Some managed to figure out the trick behind Buggy's strength. They began throwing rocks, and numerous other blunt objects at Buggy when they realized blades wouldn't work on him.

The rocks hurt and Buggy couldn't help but wince in pain as several struck him whard which would no doubt leave some nasty bruises. But in the end this only served to anger the clown and he reassembled himself so that he could finish the battle quickly.

"Throwing rocks huh? Well I have my own ranged weapon!" Buggy drew two pistols from his pockets. "You should all feel honored as you're going to be the first to witness the power of my latest weapons. The power of a ships cannon in a ball as small as pistol round shot. Behold the might of the Muggy ball!"

He aimed both of his pistols at the enemy pirates. "Die a flashy death!" he fired his pistols and sure enough each one had the strength of a cannon as numerous explosions rang out through the battlefield causing massive carnage. Chunks of earth flew up into the sky, enemys screamed, and more then a few body parts were soaring through the air as the explosive cannonballs struck the enemy positions.

Buggy didnt have much finesse, he was simply firing wildly into the crowds and creating general chaos. Which allowed his companions to fight more controlled battles.

While Buggy was leading the charge Cabaji was watching his allies flank. He ran through the battlefield slicing numerous enemies with his sword and was throwing daggers with his free hand at any enemy that was out of his range.

He saw three men with drawn pistols about to take a cheap shot at Buggy while the red nosed man was distracted. Cabaji had three daggers clutched between his left hands fingers and threw them at the enemy. All three impacted with the enemy's heads and they fell to the ground before they could even fire a shot.

Cabaji focused on subterfuge and causing chaos. While he wanted to let his swordsmanship shine he knew he was better at causing mayhem. His acrobatic finesse and reflexes made him perfect for subterfuge. Not to mention the fact that his former captain was causing so much damage with his Muggy balls that he would get caught in the crossfire if he attempted something heroic.

Seeing a large group of enemies regrouping so that they could lead another charge, Cabaji grabbed several items from his pocket and threw them at the enemy. "Acrobat technique: Kamikaze tops!" The tops spun around and landed at the enemy's feet, the pirates actually laughed at the seemingly harmless tops.

They were rather harmless. Until they each exploded with the force of a hand grenade and sent shrapnel everywhere cutting into the flesh of the enemy pirates. Cabaji drew both his swords and ran into the dazed enemy ranks and in a graceful dance of blades he easily finished off any survivors.

"What I lack in fighting ability I make up for with finesse." Cabaji proclaimed as he danced through the enemy ranks striking down the few remaining survivors.

"Wits all dis, a little mouse dancin round here?"

Cabaji turned to see a large brute of a man looking down at him. The man was a mountain of muscle and would have been intimidating, if it wasn't for the fact he was dressed head to toe in a cat themed outfit.

"I'll be stompin ye little mouse. I be te latest recruit of dis crew." The man proclaimed as he brought a giant mace down to strike Cabaji.

The mace strike kicked up a large cloud of dust. Once the dust cleared the giant looked under his mace to see his handiwork. He found nothing except destroyed chunks of earth.

"Acrobat Technique: Brain Stab!" Cabaji leapt onto the man's shoulder and brought his sword downward, stabbing into the man's brain. Cabaji leapt off the man and landed on the ground with complete grace. He turned and watched as the giant fell to the ground in a dead heap.

"Form wins over strength every time."

Mohji fought alongside Buggy and focused on watching his former captains back. Richie was a usually laid back lion that focused more on food then anything else but when facing a serious situation he became a powerful foe.

Mohji was mounted on Richie's back and was guiding the lion through the battlefield as the beast slashed numerous opponents with claws that could crush steel. He also used his whip to disarm numerous opponents so that Richie wouldn't have to fear an enemy blade or pistol getting in a lucky hit.

Mohji raised his whip and flung it at an enemy that was about to take a potshot at Richie. The whip wrapped around the man's throat and Mohji yanked on it will all his strength causing a sickening pop to echo throughout the night air as the man's neck snapped.

He continued this for some time, allowing Richie to fight off anyone who got close while taking out anyone that attempted to harm Richie with a ranged attack or a cheap trick.

It wasn't until someone managed to sneak up on them and tackle Mohji off of Richie's back that things got a little more serious.

Mohji and the man who tackled him fell to the ground in a heap. Mohji lost his grip on his whip and the man was standing over him with a dagger ready to end the lion tamers life.

"Not so strong now eh?" The man questioned as he brought the dagger down.

Mohji moved his head to the side, allowing the dagger to simply graze his cheek. He then brought up his right fist and gave the man a vicious right hook that shattered his opponents jaw.

Mohji threw his opponent off of him and retrieved his whip. Seeing a few enemies approach him he quickly used his whip to strike each of them in the face with consecutive strikes. Each one fell to the ground clutching their faces in pain.

"That hurt! What do you think we are, a bunch of circus animals?" One of them asked as he picked himself up and pointed his weapon at the animal tamer.

Mohji scoffed. "I would never use this on an innocent animal. It's only used on monsters that need to be put down." He cracked his whip and it wrapped around the man's neck which snapped as Mohji yanked the whip back.

The battle continued as Buggy, Cabaji, and Mohji managed to hold their ground and push the enemy back. Most of the enemy pirates had fallen due to mortal wounds and injuries or simply fled into the night in an attempt to find safety in the woods.

* * *

"Black Hole!" Luffy summoned forth his darkness around him in an attempt to gain some breathing room since Kuro was smart enough to avoid the darkness. He was panting and bleeding from several wounds as he tried to analyze the situation.

After Kuro had transformed into his animal/human hybrid form the fight had went from Luffy winning to a stalemate. Luffy was stronger but Kuro was faster. Kuro's usual speed was amplified ten times with his new form since his muscles were so much stronger.

Luffy tried to grab a hold of Kuro with his devil fruit ability but the man wouldn't hold still enough for him to get a good attack in. The fact that the man's fur was black as night and that they were far away from the lights of the mansion meant Luffy was relying solely on moonlight to find his enemy.

"It's useless kid!" Kuro's voice called out from the darkness. "Years ago I couldn't see where I was going when I ran at these speeds, but with my cat eyes from my devil fruit ability I can see everything! That includes having excellent night vision!"

Kuro leapt from the shadows and jumped over the darkness on the ground that was protecting Luffy. He leapt past the boy and slashed him with his cat claws, Luffy winced as the claws tore through his clothes and dug deeply into his flesh. Before he could counter attack his opponent was already returning to the shadowed areas of the village to hide.

He did this several more times and each time Luffy couldn't see where his enemy was coming from, he threw off his coat which was torn to shreds from Kuro's claws to allow him more freedom of movement. He was covered in deep cuts and blood ran freely from them but he ignored his injuries and decided to focus on his opponent.

The easiest solution would be to shroud the entire area with darkness and simply suck Kuro up with it. But the fight had taken them to a area of the village surrounded by houses. He didn't want to destroy the entire area to bring down one man. 'Plus if I lose control of my power it could destroy everything.' He thought to himself as he tried to find out where Kuro went.

Kuro leapt from the shadows once more and delivered a quick slash to Luffys right side. Luffy managed to dodge it but the mans clas still grazed his side leaving behind a shallow cut. That was enough for Luffy who decided to simply use his power.

"I don't need to see you in order to kick your ass!" Luffy called out as he summoned a massive amount of darkness around himself. He hated using these types of techniques due to collateral damage but this situation called for it, if he let the fight drag on his opponent might get the upper hand.

"Infinite Abyss!" he called out as massive amounts of darkness shot out from him in all directions, consuming everything in its path. Trees, dirt, and even nearby houses that the villagers had abandoned were slowly being consumed by the darkness as their foundations began being sucked into the void.

Kuro's eyes widened when he realized he couldn't escape from that much darkness. He decided to take the offensive and attack before he could be finished off with such an ability. He turned into his pure animal form and leapt onto a roof of a nearby house, the house was slowly sinking into the darkness but it was tall enough to give him the advantage of being on high ground. He used his strong legs to launch himself at Luffy and maneuvered himself in the air to avoid the darkness that the boy was sending out, allowing him to close the distance for the kill.

Luffy didn't see the attack but he felt it when sharp teeth latched themselves onto his shoulder, drawing blood and making him cancel his attack. Luffy felt the panthers fangs sink deeper into his flesh and its claws tear into his body, despite the horrible pain he couldn't help but smile at the man's idiocy.

"Got you!" Luffy grabbed the cat by its throat and activated his devil fruit ability.

Kuro's form changed as he reverted back to a human, the look of shock on his face was priocless as he realized his once deadly fangs and claws were now his normal human ones. He let go of Luffy and tried to make sense of what had happened. "Why did I change I-" He was cut off when he felt a powerful fist strike him in the chest as Luffy delivered a powerful darkness infused punch to the man's ribs and he felt several of them crack. He flew backwards and hit the ground and rolled across the earth until he lay in a injured heap trying to make sense of what had just happened. .

"My darkness sucks in everything, even the power of a devil fruit." Luffy said as he ran at the man's prone form and prepared to finish the fight. He ran up to Kuro and was about to deliver another darkness infused punch to the man, but Kuro quickly transformed into his hybrid form and righted himself from his prone position. He used his speed and reflexes to run up to Luffy and before the boy could deliver a punch, kuro grabbed both of the boys wrists and used his increased strength to wrestle his foe.

"You can't take my power if you can't touch me with those hands of yours!" Kuro growled as he held the boys wrists. digging his claws into them so that he couldn't fight back without further inuring himself in the process.

Luffy simply opened his mouth as wide as possible, revealing a dark portal in his mouth. "Mouth Bazooka!" A cannonball launched out of his mouth with the same amount of force as being shot out of a cannon. It impacted with Kuro and exploded, sending both Kuro and Luffy flying away from each other. Kuro fell onto the ground once more, while Luffy flew into a nearby house, caving in its front wall and causing the ceiling to fall.

Kuro got up and winced as he felt his ribs ache. Transforming was only hurting him more and he looked over to the mansions gate. He felt anger as he saw that his men hadn't even managed to defeat the trash that were defending the mansion. He saw the others who had been defending the gate were pushing his forces back and the few that had tried to sneak past them were being gunned down by the two people defending the gate.

He turned to where he sent his opponent flying and saw Luffy walking through the rubble of the house he had been thrown into without as much as a limp. "I can't lose, my plans cannot fail! If I can't kill you then Ill at least kill Kaya!"

Kuro turned away from his fight with Luffy and turned into his hybrid form and ran at the gate.

"Your fight is with me!" Luffy called out as he ran after the cat. He tried to use his darkness to draw him in but he was moving erratically and too far away. Luffy settled for chasing after the man and hoping he could stop him in time.

* * *

Nami and Usopp had been busy throughout the battle shooting any enemy that approached the gates. Quite a few had tried to sneak past the main defenders in an attempt to get to the mansion but they had fall fallen.

Nami had long since run out of ammunition for her pistols and had her staff out as she called out to Usopp if she saw an enemy approaching. Usopp for his part was looking down the sights of his rifle and taking out an enemy with every single shot.

"Top left!" Nami called out as another opponent had slipped past Zoro. Usopp turned and fired a round at the man which went straight through his heart and caused him to drop to the ground stone dead.

"Looks like that's all of them!" she called out as she looked around and saw the battlefield had cleared significantly. She was shook out of her thoughts by a loud roar and looked down the road and saw a large monstrous black figure charging at them.

"Usopp there's something coming at us from the road!" She pointed out the monster and Usopp followed her gaze and his eyes widened at what he saw.

Kuro's massive form was battered and bleeding from his fight with Luffy but he pushed his body to its limit as he ran at his enemy. He saw several projectiles flying at him but he simply dodged them with his catlike reflexes and continued his march.

Usopp and Nami were becoming terrified as the monster dodged every single one of Usopp's shots, it looked like the enemy was going to reach them without any resistance until the giant cat monster suddenly fell to the ground.

Kuro fell to the ground and felt something holding his leg. He looked over to the offending appendage and saw Jango standing holding on to it as the man got up to his feet holding a sharp chakram. The man let go of his foot and positioned himself over Kuro's prone form.

"If I'm going to die then I'm taking you with me!" Jango yelled as he brought the chakram down on his former captain. Kuro winced in pain as he felt the sharp object embed itself into his back but he quickly overcame it and threw the man off of him.

Kuro delivered a rage filled punch to the hypnotist's face which sent the man flying several yards where he lay motionless once more. "You always were a weak fool Jango." Kuro grunted as he turned his attention back to the mansion. Before he could begin his mad dash for the mansion he felt himself being pulled away and his eyes widened as he turned around and was once more facing Luffy who was drawing him in with his darkness.

"Dark Grasp." Luffy increased the gravitational forces of his ability and soon Kuro was flying towards him. Once he was close enough he grabbed the man by his throat, forcing his transformation to end as his devil fruit ability canceled out.

"I'm your opponent!' Luffy yelled as he delivered a rage filled punch to the man's face. Kuro felt his nose break as he was flung backwards from the force of the punch and he landed in front of the gate in a bloody heap.

Luffy ran up to Kuro and planned on fighting him more but found the man was unmoving.

As Luffy gazed at Kuro's defeated form Zoro, Buggy, Cabaji, and Mohji walked up to the gate as well. The battlefield was clear, the remaining pirates had fled after being beaten back by Luffy's crew.

"We won." Usopp said breaking the silence. "We beat back an entire crew of pirates."

There was no real celebration at that statement, everyone was injured, tired, and covered in blood that wasn't their own. All of them began to walk slowly into Kaya's estate when they heard a groaning sound from behind them.

All eyes turned to see Kuro picking himself up and forcing himself to walk forward.

Kuro grunted with every step as his muscles felt like they were on fire, his bones creaked with every movement, and his vision was clouded by warm blood that flowed freely from his numerous wounds. Despite the hellish pain he forced himself onwards and looked up at his opponents with a murderous glare.

"You bastards! I am Kuro of a hundred plans!" he yelled as his eyes took on a demented appearance. "My plans have never failed! They cannot fail! I will des-"

BOOM

Kuro looked down and saw blood flowing from a hole in his heart. He fell to the ground as the entire group looked over to Usopp who was holding a smoking pistol. "That was for poisoning Kaya and murdering her parents." He said, before turning away and walking off to the mansion.

Luffy looked over to where Kuro had fallen. The man was surely dead, even a Zoan fruit user couldn't survive a shot to the heart. He turned his gaze over to the field outside the mansions gate. It was littered with bodies, blood, and discarded weapons. He hadn't seen so much death since he was a child.

He saw the battle had some effects on his crew as well. While Zoro, Buggy, Cabaji, and Mohji appeared injured but fine. Nami and Usopp had empty looks in their eyes as they walked towards the mansion. They would need time to come to terms with the battle and the people they had killed.

They had won, but it wasn't the type of victory that called for celebration. His journey to becoming the pirate king was not as fun as he hoped it would be.

"Some victory…" He muttered as he led his crew into the mansion for some much needed rest.

* * *

 **Authors note**

21,937 words not counting disclaimers and authors note...man this was a horror to write and edit. I intended to split this into two chapters to make it easier to read and give you guys a earlier update. Sadly they didn't flow well as two chapters, the first half would have been nothing but set up and the second half nothing but action. It didnt flow well so id decided to make one giant chapter, hopefully its not too much of a pain to read like this.

Due to chapter length and no beta reader there will be mistakes, so i apologize. I edited this thing 5 times, and I cant bring myself to do a sixth time

Alright first off I know there are a great deal of changes to how things went down in this chapter. I made these changes because...I found that rewritng canon is boring. Also the changes in everything signify the butterfly effect Luffys actions in the Goa kingdom had, the world has changed. The changes wont always be as intense as the ones in this chapter but they will exist. Why Did Kuro eat a devil fruit? because the seas were more dangerous and he needed an edge. It all is linked to Luffys actions.

Some readers have complained that Luffy isn't powerful enough. Well I don't really plan on writing him as godlike, I find that lacks tension and is boring. Thats not to say he wont easily crush certain enemies in this story, but I do want him to have opponents who pose a genuine threat. Such as Kuro using the darkness of the night and his devil fruit to avoid Luffys attacks. I want there to be some threat to Luffy.

One reviewer commented that my combat scenes were a bit dull...I completely agree. This is the first story Ive ever really written seriously and the first one with combat in it. Im basically writing blind and have no experience portraying fight scenes. Im trying to improve and will rise to the challenge. If you find my fight scenes boring I apologize and promise Ill will keep trying to do better.

Also the fight scenes might have suffered due to the fact that everyone was for the most part fighting generic pirates, the chapter was also running long by the time the fighting started. I also took some libereties with Buggy, Cabaji and Mohji's abilities. I don't intend for them to be mere extras in this story.

Also some people have asked if Luffy will be getting an armada in this story. The answer is no. He will have a large crew but no armada. Some people pointed out that a larger crew wont fit on the Going Merry and he will need an armada...well lets just say next chapter will answer those questions.

Usopp using a gun, he will be using his slingshots throughout the story as his primary weapon but he will use his rifle for serious battles. We say in the Strong World movie that he can carry his Kabuto and a bazooka easily on his back. I made this change to give him a more diverse arsenal. Also if he seemed more confident thats because of his fathers letter.

Story is a little darker, but really when you really read one piece its already dark, the humor just makes you forget about it. Brooks backstory,biological weapons, anything involving Doflamingo, one piece is hella dark.

Final point, due to the increased length of my authors notes, I will be deleting most of the content from previous authors notes in past chapters, with exception to important questions and answers. This is so that my stories word length isn't artificially inflated. I know high word count doesn't equal a good story, but I don't want people who click on my story thinking that the story is much larger then it is, that feels like false advertising.

Finally, thank you to all my reviews, last chapter got a amazingly huge response and I cant thank you all enough.

Thank you Keeper of the Worlds, Zaralann, ahsanrox, Treetho, themaximus,FizzyCascade,Chimera629,nightmaster000,Shadow of God,Lightningblade49,Khyle123,Fanfictionhunter, 22,The Apex Predator 01,FeJazz,DarkPirateKing69,DevlinDracul,Sagar Huissainn,Kyren,Wrathofdementor,Thomasslaverson,Nwanda225,makubeDakidX,Chunnin33,Vimesthusiest,Lucavento,Dragonblicks,Longpastmidnight,Iwish328,norris321,TheOnlyKing,animefan29,Astroman 1000.

You are all the best and your words of encouragement keep me writing.


	6. Recovery and Recruitment

Disclaimer-I do not own One Piece

* * *

Luffy tossed and turned in his sleep. He was having a wonderful dream involving finding an island of meat when suddenly darkness enveloped him and dispelled his wonderful dream. He looked around trying to find the voice but only saw darkness. It was as if every single one of his senses were being suffocated.

 **"You shed so much blood in the last battle, then again what's a few more deaths compared to the thousands you've already killed?"** A voice asked, calling out from the darkness **. "Did you kill Kuro and his crew to defend the villagers? Or was it simply the primal desire to rise above other men? Do you even know why?"**

Luffy wanted to respond but the darkness suffocated him and made him unable to move or speak.

 **"I'm not saying Kuro didn't deserve it, because he most certainly did deserve to die. It must have been agony for such a tightly-wound man to watch all his scheming fall apart and years of planning were rendered pointless in a matter of minutes. As he breathed his last breathes he must have realized that all his planning was for nothing, even as he shouted proclamations to the contrary. That must have been exquisitely terrifying."**

Luffy managed to find his voice. "Who are you!?" He demanded as he gazed around the ever-shifting darkness.

 **"I am the Void."**

* * *

"Luffy." A voice called out. "Wake up, it's almost noon!"

Luffy violently shot out of bed and began looking at his surroundings with wide-eyes. He saw Usopp standing at the side of his bed, looking at him with obvious concern.

"I came to check up on you. You missed breakfast and it's almost noon." Usopp said as he walked over to the window and pushed aside the curtains, allowing light into the room. "It's the first time I've seen you miss a meal so I was getting worried."

Luffy covered his eyes for several seconds as his eyes adjusted to the new lighting conditions. He was situated in one of Kaya's many guest rooms within her mansion. It had been three days since the battle and things in the village were returning to normal. He and his crew were resting and enjoying the town's hospitality since they were widly considered heroes to the villagers. He would have protested against being called a hero but since saving the village he was able to eat all the meat he wanted so he allowed it.

"I'm fine Usopp." Luffy got out of bed and stretched the kinks out of his muscles. "I just slept really deeply, I must have been those painkillers the doctor gave me. Had some strange dreams."

Usopp nodded as he turned to his new captain. "Well Lunch is being served so you might want to grab something to eat. Zoro and the others are down at the town bar enjoying the village's hospitality. As for Nami I think she went over to the cliffs to be alone, you might want to check up on her."

Luffy nodded thoughtfully as his thoughts drifted to his navigator. "How about you? Are you doing alright Usopp?" He asked, drawing his friend attention. Usopp had been acting normal but even Luffy could tell the battle had been hard on him since he was forced to take so many lives.

Usopp let out a laugh and struck what he thought was a tough guy pose. "Of course I'm fine!" He declared proudly. "I'm the great Usopp, warrior of the sea, slayer of evil doers, and defender of the weak. Nothing can keep me down and out!" Usopp stated as he walked over towards the door. "I'll give you some privacy so that you can get ready for the day."

Once Usopp walked out of the room Luffy was left alone with his thoughts. He remembered the dream he had and how it all seemed so real. "That voice was the same one…the one that spoke all those years ago." He would never forget that voice, it was dark and ominous but also calm and soothing. It made you relax but also put you on edge, it was a song of comfort and gnashing of teeth.

Luffy didn't know what to think. "Just bad memories…" He muttered as he got ready for the day.

* * *

Nami gazed out over the endless expanse of ocean before her and let out a tired sigh. She was sitting on a cliffs edge outside of Kaya's mansion and contemplating recent events. It had been three days since the battle with the Black Cat Pirates and she was starting to feel a bit more normal.

It had been a chaotic last few weeks. Joining up with Luffy had made for an interesting experience and she couldn't help but feel shocked at the adventures she had been on so far. If someone had told her that she would selflessly fight off a deadly pirate crew in order to protect a village she would have laughed until her sides hurt.

But here she was, resting after the largest battle she had ever been in. The old her would have slipped off into the night, hijacked a boat, and gotten off the island during the chaos. Instead she had stayed behind and fought for her very life with no promise of reward. It didn't take long for her to figure out what changed her.

"He brings out the good in me…I can't stand it." Nami growled as she thought about her temporary captain. She had never allowed her mask to crack in all the years she had been Arlong's pawn. Always careful to be a cold and amoral thief who never let anyone close to her. But a few weeks with Luffy and that perfect mask had come apart.

She shook her head and considered recent events. "Then again he did give me the money to free my village…I guess I don't have to be that person anymore." The idea of freedom from Arlong was foreign to her and she had to pinch herself several times to make sure she wasn't dreaming. She had the money, now all she needed was to make a quick trip back to Cocoyashi village and her nightmare would be over.

She heard the sound of footsteps and turned to see the object of her thoughts was walking up to her.

"What's on your mind Nami?" Luffy asked curiously as he took a bite out of a large piece of meat he was holding in his hand. "You've been really distant lately and it's starting to feel like your avoiding me."

"Maybe I just wanted some peace and quiet." She pointed out stubbornly as she continued to stare out at the ocean. She took a quick glance at the boy and saw he was wearing a simple white shirt, shorts, and sandals. The only part of his old outfit that had survived his fight with Kuro was his black hat. He had numerous bandages over his body for the minor cuts he got during his fight along with a larger one for the spot on his shoulder where Kuro had managed to sink his panther fangs into Luffy's flesh.

Luffy sat down next to her either not hearing or not caring about the slight edge in her tone. He handed her a bento wrapped in cloth along with a pair of chopsticks. Nami was about to refuse but he shoved it into her hands.

"You haven't been eating the last few days." He pointed out as he turned back to his meat. "You can't set out to sea on an empty stomach. I had Kaya's kitchen staff make it special for you. I kept telling them to add more meat but they kept yapping about some sort of healthy eating pyramid. I tried telling them that pyramids are made out of stone and therefore not edible, but they didn't listen."

Nami wanted to refuse but a loud growl from her stomach made her accept the food. She took the chopsticks and opened her bento, revealing meat, vegetables, and assorted fruits. "The pyramid represents a balanced diet, although from what I hear that form of nutritional information is out of date."

Luffy didn't fully understand what she meant but nodded his head anyway. "Well I guess a chef would know best. That's probably the next person we should recruit after we leave this island, a chef and then a musician."

"Musician?" Nami questioned in between bites of her food.

"Of course!" Luffy stated happily. "Pirates love to sing and party. So a musician is an essential position we need filled."

Nami shook her head at his antics. "Well a chef is a good idea, a healthy diet can be the difference between life and death on long voyages."

They finished off the rest of their meals in comfortable silence and once they were done they sat back and relaxed as the sun began to dip over the horizon.

"So…" Luffy began, unsure of how to approach the topic that he had come here to discuss with his friend. "How are you feeling after the whole…battle thing?" He fumbled, trying to find the right words.

Nami drew her legs up to her chest and hugged them. "Better, I'm doing much better." She said honestly. "I know they were bad people and they would have killed me if I hadn't defended myself."

"If we hadn't stopped them this village would be nothing but a memory and Kuro would be enjoying Kaya's fortune." Luffy pointed out as he thought about the battle. "I prefer to avoid killing. Sometimes I feel letting people live on with their hopes and dreams shattered is a better punishment. But a man like Kuro was too dangerous to let live, I was about to shoot him myself but Usopp was faster on the draw."

"How is Usopp dealing with it?" She asked as she thought about the long nosed teen. She hadn't seen him or had a chance to talk to him since after the battle. "I've spent years seeing some of the worst that these oceans have to offer, but someone like him who's lived in this peaceful place must be taking it hard."

Luffy shook his head. "Nah, he's actually doing really well. I think his desire to protect the village he loves and the warrior of the sea thing he has going has let him cope with killing well."

Nami nodded thoughtfully as she continued to stare out at the ocean. "Does it ever get any easier?" She asked, unable to shake the feeling that she would have to take life again.

"It does." Luffy responded as his eyes took on a strange faraway look. "There are times I wish it didn't but the hard truth is that killing does become easy. That's why I try my best to end fights without killing, but it wasn't an option with Kuro and his men. If we hesitated one or all of us could have died, along with this entire village."

Nami silently agreed with that statement. "So when do we leave here? While I appreciate Kaya's hospitality I want to leave this island behind me."

Luffy considered those words for a while before answering. "Four days at the most, I want to be sure everyone is rested before leaving." He got up and dusted himself off. "I better head back to the mansion, Kaya wanted to speak with me about something important once I delivered your food."

Nami got up and summoned forth the courage to ask the question that had been bugging her the last few days. "Luffy, there's something I've been meaning to ask you." She began, clearing her throat and drawing the boy's attention. "Since this adventure began I've seen you use your powers, so why didn't you simply swallow up all of the enemy in your darkness? You could have coated the entire village area in it and took out Kuro and his crew all at once."

Luffy paused for a moment, memories of the Goa Kingdom flashing through his mind.

"Well if I took care of every enemy like that then you guys wouldn't get stronger, and I'm pretty sure Zoro would leave the crew." Luffy started, considering his words carefully. "Also if I used my full power then there wouldn't be a village left standing."

* * *

In the town's only bar and restaurant a party was going on that was a stark contrast to the otherwise somber mood many people were in. Zoro, Buggy, Cabaji, and Mohji were all gathered in the bar having a small party that was quickly growing as more people joined in.

"More sake!" Zoro called out as he took a deep drink from his cup. "None of that cheap stuff either, only your best!"

Zoro was sitting at a large table in the village's bar and drinking as much as he could. While he preferred to have some moderation in his drinking, it was Buggy footing the bill so he decided to go all out. After the battle it was easy to see he had won their bet of taking out the most enemies.

"Nothing imported!" Buggy called out to the barman before directing a glare at Zoro. "Have some mercy, I'm already buying the booze no need to rub salt in the wound."

Zoro simply shrugged and accepted the drinks that the waitress brought over to them and handed one to Buggy. "Just shut up and drink. You lost and I won, so just grin and bear it."

"Isn't it a little early to be drinking like this?' Buggy asked as he accepted the drink from Zoro. "It's not even happy hour yet."

Zoro waved away Buggy's statement. "For real men like us every hour is happy hour." He put forth happily.

"Listen to Zoro and loosen up Buggy." Cabaji chimed in as he rested on a large booth with a girl cuddled up to each of his sides. "We saved the village so we all deserve to relax. Don't sweat the money and enjoy the moment." He turned his attention back to his two female companions.

"Tell us again about how you beat that awful giant man?" One of the girls asked as she snuggled up to the acrobat's side. "I heard he was eight feet tall."

Cabaji chuckled. "Well he was about twelve feet tall, had rippling muscles and wielded a giant mace nearly half his size. But I gracefully danced around him and delivered a swift killing blow to his head with my sword." He boasted as he reached an arm around each of his admirers. "I'd never let a monster like that harm any of you."

Zoro watched Cabaji's boasting and couldn't hide a grimace. "He really lays it on thick doesn't he?" Zoro muttered as he poured himself and Buggy another drink.

Buggy nodded as he accepted the swordsman's drink. "Cabaji is a smooth talker alright, but be sure to keep an eye on him. We were once hunted by marines for three weeks because he decided to bed a marine lieutenant's daughter."

Zoro nodded thoughtfully and directed his attention to the other end of the bar. Cabaji wasn't the only one attracting female attention, Mohji was also had a few admirers at the very end of the bar. He was showing off Richie to several wide-eyed country girls who had never seen a lion before.

"He's so big and cute!" One of them squealed as she snuggled up to the lion's mane. Richie looked a little annoyed at the attention he was getting until Mohji leaned into the lions ear. ' _Get me laid here and I'll buy you all the food you can eat.'_ He whispered into his familiar's ear.

The temptation of food was too great and Richie immediately began to purr and rolled onto his back which only made the girls coo even more.

"Oh Mohji you must be an amazing person to tame a lion." A pretty blond said as she leaned up against the man, pressing her chest into his arm.

"Not to mention your hair is so cute." another pointed out as she touched his hair. "Its soft like an animal's fur."

Zoro almost puked into his drink as he watched the girls throw themselves at his crewmates. "Good God these country girls are naïve." He muttered as he watched the display. Several had walked up to him earlier and expressed their admiration, but he sent them packing with a glare. It's not that he didn't like women, he just found these innocent and idiotic country girls uninteresting. "I prefer my women to be made of stronger stuff."

Buggy rolled his eyes at that statement. "Please, from what I've seen of your tastes I can only imagine that your ideal version of a woman is a sword with tits." He responded, ignoring the glare Zoro was directing at him.

"What would you know?" The swordsman growled angrily. "I don't see you hitting on any of these girls, so I can only assume you're worried about what they will say when they see what you're hiding under that bandana. You even wear it while drinking booze." Zoro punctuated his statement by trying to pull the bandana wrapped around Buggy's face, only for the former clown to slap the man's hand away.

"I'm not worried about that, I can work a room as well as Cabaji. All I need is the right target." Buggy retorted as he looked around the bar for someone suitable. After looking around he found his target, an older woman sitting alone in a booth near the back of the bar. "Watch me sword for brains, you might just learn something from a master of seduction." Buggy downed his drink and walked over to his target.

"Mind if I join you?" Buggy asked as he sauntered up to the woman's table. She was an older woman with brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. Despite being older she still had a pretty face and a nice figure.

The woman looked like she was about to tell him to leave but when she looked up and saw who it was he eyes went wide. "Oh, you're one of those bounty hunters who protected the town." She said, surprised at the appearance of such a figure. "Please make yourself comfortable." She gestured to the seat across from her.

Buggy sat down and ordered the two of them several drinks, after they got their drinks they exchanged small talk for a while. Buggy learned the woman's name and occupation as a seamstress who owned a small shop near the villages harbor. Buggy spun a story about how he was a criminal who suffered facial damage in his youth, and his becoming a bounty hunter was his attempts at redemption for past crimes.

It was a false story that Zoro thought was utterly stupid but the woman bought it. After twenty minutes of talking Zoro had to watch as Buggy was led out of the bar by the woman, but not before Buggy walked over to Zoro and plopped down a wad of money

"Buy yourself whatever you want sonny." Buggy said happily as his female companion leaned into his arm. "Hopefully you learned something from watching a master in action."

Zoro watched as Buggy sauntered out of the bar with his date for the night. Zoro looked over to the rest of his crew and saw both Cabaji and Mohji being led out by their fangirls. He felt a tic appear on his head as he realized he was now sitting in an empty bar with only the bartender for company.

"I hate drinking alone…" He stared down at his cup of sake with noticeable annoyance, he turned to his right and noticed Richie staring at him with big sad eyes. "Mohji ditch you for some girl?" He asked, feeling a tiny bit of sympathy for the giant cat.

The Lion nodded and sat down next to him like a dog would, except for the fact that even sitting down Richie was still taller than the bar. Zoro filled a large saucer full of sake and pushed it over to the lion. "Might as well drink with me then. Drinking with a lion is better than drinking alone."

Richie happily began lapping at the sake and easily finished off his first bowl, which Zoro promptly refilled.

The bartender walked over to bring Zoro more sake and saw the giant lion lapping up the booze. "Is it safe for a lion to be drinking that much?" The bartender asked as he watched the lion down bowls of sake. Zoro simply shrugged in response.

"I'm not his keeper, so bring him another round. I refuse to drink alone."

* * *

Luffy walked into the mansion and saw it was mostly back to its original state. The windows were open to let in the afternoon breeze and all the debris from the hasty fortification were already taken off and moved away.

Kaya met him in the living room, her skin seemed less pale and she was moving about with confidence and energy. "Our prisoner is awake. I have Usopp watching over him right now." Kaya guided him through the mansions corridors until they reached one of the spare rooms. Inside the room was a familiar looking sunglasses wearing man. He was bandaged up but Luffy would never forget those strange heart shaped sunglasses he wore.

Usopp was standing guard over Jango, his slingshot in hand and ready for action. Jango seemed to just ignore the boy's presence and turned to face his two new arrivals.

"So you survived Mr. Jango." Luffy stated as he looked over the man and the many bandages that adorned his body.

"Just Jango please, no need for formalities." He corrected as he sat upright in his bed. "Since I'm not dead or rotting in a cell I'm guessing you want something from me?"

Luffy sat on a chair next to the bed and relaxed a bit before answering. "Not really, you turned on that murderous captain of yours, and even managed to stop him before he reached my friends. Which possibly saved their lives."

"It wasn't for a selfless reason or anything." Jango responded. "I simply wanted to take that bastard to hell with me. I served him loyally for years and he still tried to kill me."

"You deserved it for trying to kill Kaya." Usopp growled, unwilling to forget that this man had been an ally of Kuro.

Jango raised his hands in supplication. "I didn't plan on killing anyone. Kuro contacted me after years of being away and he said all I had to do was hypnotize a terminally ill girl into signing him into her will. Then she would die of natural causes and he would use the money to get me and the crew pardoned and instated as official privateers."

Usopp glared at Jango. "She wasn't terminally ill, he had been poisoning her over the course of a year to make her appear ill, and then he was planning on finishing her off once the will was completed."

"I had no clue about any of that!" Jango stated honestly. "He said she wouldn't live much longer, it seemed like a harmless crime. I swear I had no clue about any poisoning."

"It's fine Usopp." Kaya chimed in and put a comforting hand on Usopp's shoulder. "I believe him, besides I'm feeling much better now. So please calm down."

Those words made calmed Usopp down but he still kept a suspicious eye on Jango, waiting for the man to make a wrong move.

Luffy mulled Jango's words over in his heads and he believed the man's story. It made the events leading up to the battle make sense. "Even if it was for selfish reasons you did turn on Kuro, and for that I give you your life." Luffy offered, which surprised Jango greatly. "The marines will be coming soon to clean up this mess and give us our bounty money for killing Kuro. So I suggest you make yourself scarce before then. The few members of your crew who managed to escape the battle escaped on your ship so you will need a new boat."

Jango relaxed into his bed and stroked his chin in thought. "Thank you for letting me go free, but without a crew to command I have nowhere to go" He felt his chin more thoughtfully and realized something. "Oi what happened to my chin? It's gone!"

"You mean this?" Kaya asked as she held up a black and red striped object. "The doctor surgically removed it from your face when he was treating you. You do realize this was a mushroom right?"

Jango rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "It grew on my chin years ago, I left the stem part on because it gave me a more….unique look." He admitted. "It's surreal to see it gone, although it might be a good thing since I'll need to sneak around for the rest of my life. I got nowhere to go now that the Black Cat Pirates are no more."

Luffy considered the man's words for a bit and shrugged his shoulders. "Well…I guess you could join up with us. We might be bounty hunters right now but I intend to set off as a pirate soon."

Those words surprised the hypnotist. "That's an interesting career shift, but even if you plan on becoming a pirate do you really want me on your crew?" Jango asked curiously. "I was a part of the crew that attacked this place."

"You wouldn't be the first former enemy to join up with me." Luffy pointed out, so far Buggy and his former crew had been working out splendidly. "Your nine million beli bounty is fairly impressive for this ocean so you must be good at something to become that infamous."

Usopp decided to cut in. "Are we really going to let him join?" The teen asked directing another glare at the hypnotist. "He was an enemy, which means he could turn on us."

"Hey I'm very loyal!" protested Jango. "I was loyal to Kuro for years. I only betrayed him when he wanted me to do something unconscionable! As long as I'm not asked to do something as awful as wiping out a village I won't turn on you."

Usopp wasn't convinced. "Well how good are you in a fight?" He asked, trying to find reasons for the man not to join. "You seemed to get your ass handed to you by Kuro."

That insult cut a bit deep and Jango felt the need to prove the boy wrong. "Give me one of my chakram." Jango ordered, holding his hand out to Usopp. The long nosed teen hesitantly handed over one of the chakram he had confiscated from the hypnotist.

Jango looked out the open window of his room and in one swift motion threw the chakram out of the window. Everyone watched as it flew through the air and struck the stem of an apple that was dangling from an apple tree just outside of the mansions walls. "I'll admit I'm not the best fighter but I'm a skilled hypnotist and I can hit a target far away with a chakram." He stated proudly, seeing the looks of amazement on the others faces. "I also know how to play the guitar."

"YOURE HIRED!" Luffy happily, overjoyed at the prospect of having a musician on his crew. He had stars in his eyes as he imagined how wonderful feasts would be with proper music to accompany them. Despite his excitement he quickly regained control of himself and remembered to ask the most important question of all.

"You being a musician is wonderful and I want you on my crew for sure now. But I do need to know one thing. What is your goal in life?" Luffy asked, surprising g the hypnotist.

Out of all the question he was expecting that one caught him off guard. "Goal?" He asked, genuinely perplexed by the teen sitting across from him.

Luffy nodded. "I plan on becoming the Pirate King and claiming One Piece. That means going through the Grand Line, so if you have a goal that doesn't revolve around that then you might want to reconsider joining up." He pointed out simply. "Plus it's important for anyone to have something to pursue."

Jango thought deeply about that question. "Tell me kids, have you ever heard of Mirror Ball Island?" he asked, surprising everyone in the room with such a strange question.

Both Usopp and Luffy seemed stumped but Kaya knew what Jango was talking about.

"You're talking about the party Island here in the East Blue right?" She asked, receiving an affirmative nod from Jango she decided to continue. "It's a huge paradise of culture, all the latest fashions, fads, and dance moves come from that island."

"That's right." Jango confirmed. "However there is a place in the New World called Doskoi Island. All of the fashion and trends we get here in the East Blue are merely bits and pieces of fashion and fads that trickle from Doskoi Island. It's said that Doskoi Island is decades ahead of anywhere else in the world culturally. It hosts endless parties and the biggest dance competition in the world. Winners of that completion win wealth, eternal fame and glory."

Usopp rolled that statement around in his head. "Doskoi Island…does that have anything to do with the Doskoi Panda brand merchandise line?"

Jango nodded. "That's right, that merchandise is all from that island. Its makes everything from fashionable clothes, to practical clothes like aprons and whatnot." He pointed out. "My dream is to go to Doskoi Island and take part in that dance completion, I've always wanted to be a world famous dancer. If you intend to be Pirate King then you must travel through the New World in order to get One Piece, Doskoi Island is near the end of the Grand Line in the New World."

"That's perfect." Luffy stated happily. "But if that's your dream why have you been in the East Blue for so long?"

Jango grimaced. "Getting to the New World isn't easy, thousands of pirates die heading through the Grand Line. The only people who can enter easily are the marines and I don't want to join them since there's no guarantee I would even be stationed in the New World." He pointed out. "I thought joining with Kuro would be my best chance, but the man was a coward and quit being a pirate. Eventually I gave up and settled into being a pirate for a living, but it looks like I can pursue my dream once more with you guys."

"Well then welcome to the crew." Luffy shook Jango's hand. After sharing a few more words with Jango he was about to leave the room, but Kaya stood in his way.

"Before you leave I wanted to ask you something in private. Would you please join me in my study?' She asked softly but in a tone that made it evident that it was urgent.

"Okay, lead the way." He responded as he followed Kaya out of the room, leaving Usopp and Jango alone.

Usopp walked over to Jango's bed and fixed him with a harsh stare. "Luffy might be trust you but I'll be keeping an eye on you." He warned as he let his free hand rest on his slingshot. "If you betray us Ill kick your ass."

Jango waved the boy off. "I don't care whether you like me or even trust me boy. I owe you all my life, so I'll fight for you and repay that debt. Regardless of whether you trust me or not."

Those words seemed to soothe Usopp and the two of them settled into a comfortable silence.

* * *

Zoro walked out of the villages bar with Richie stumbling after him, both were swaying slightly due to their alcohol consumption but were otherwise in fine spirits.

"For a lion you sure can drink." Zoro said as he looked over to his cat companion. Richie simply let out a content purr as the beast enjoyed its own state of drunken bliss. "Those other idiots have no idea what they missed out on, women are fleeting but booze is eternal." The man and beast began their trek through the village's streets with the intention of reaching the mansion, but before they even made it down the road they were stopped.

A beautiful woman stood in the middle of the road. She had black hair, a curvaceous body, and wore a white cowgirl hat with a large red plume, a pearl necklace, a bikini top, and tight Capri-length pants.

Usually Zoro wouldn't care about some woman standing in the road, but this woman was wielding a giant spiked metal mace that was almost as large as she was. It put him on edge to see someone so well armed. Usually he wouldn't care since he was so formidable, but he was more than a little tipsy and wasn't sure how well he could wield his swords in such a state.

Deciding to keep things civil he decided to greet the stranger. "Can I help you?" He asked a bit stiffly, subconsciously resting a free hand on his swords. Richie sensed Zoro's tension and regarded the woman similarly, coiling up his body and ready to pounce on command.

"That depends." She began, eyeing Zoro up and down with bored eyes. "Are you a member of Monkey D. Luffy's crew?"

Zoro nodded. "That's right, I'm the Pirate Hunter Zoro, what's it to you lady?" He asked impatiently.

"My names Alvida." She said, gesturing to herself. "I've heard some interesting rumors as I've tracked down your captain."

"Oh?" Zoro definitely had a bad feeling about the situation, but chose to play along. "What rumors might those be?"

"After your captain beat me up and sent me to prison I tracked him down, I wanted to meet the only man who ever managed to conquer me." She said in a dreamy voice as a blush adorned her face. "At first I thought I was doomed to admire him from a distance. Since such a man would simply lock me up again, but I couldn't get him out of my head. But then when I began to sail towards Orange Town I met a large group of pirates who were fleeing the man I was pursuing."

Zoro figured she must have meant the remnants of Buggy's crew that they had sent packing once the towns rubble was cleared, but everything else the woman said was a mystery to the swordsman.

"They told me an interesting story." She said, recalling how she had forced them to tell her the tale. Not that she needed to do much, a simple wink and they were ready to spill their guts to her. "A story about a group of bounty hunters who intended to become pirates and head out to the Grand Line once they got the necessary money and resources."

Zoro cursed his luck, Buggy's crew had been there for the parley and knew the details of their plans. It was a loose end they had never considered before. He shook those thoughts from his head and focused on the situation at hand. "So you've managed to run us down, what the hell is it that you want from us?"

"I was looking to join up with you of course." She stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm an experienced pirate, and I bring other abilities that a man would find very attractive." She let her coat open up revealing her cleavage.

While most men would have suffered a nose bleed at this point Zoro wasn't most men. He simply rolled his eyes at the woman's statement and obvious attempt at seduction. "Well if we ever need a cheerleader I'll be sure to call, let's get out of here Richie." He began to walk down the road and intended to ghost right past the woman but she grabbed the metal mace from her back.

"I'm not a cheerleader, and I bet I could kick your ass." She stated proudly as she got into a battle stance, hefting the giant mace in her right hand and twirling it around as if it were as light as a feather.

Zoro let out a tired sigh and drew his blades. "I'm not in the mood for a serious fight, I just got through having a nice drink at the bar and I want to actually enjoy the buzz I have going." He placed Wado into his mouth, tied his bandana around his head and drew his other two swords. "So I'll make you a deal, we do this first blood style. Whoever draws first blood wins. If you win I'll let you join the crew."

"Deal."

Zoro didn't waste any time and lunged at his opponent all three swords poised to attack her. Alvida simply stood there as Zoro lunged at her all his blades drawn as he slashed at her midsection. "Demon Slash!" Zoro's swords cut in an arc at Alvida's side but instead of an impact he felt his blades slip off of the woman.

He turned and saw Alvida still standing in the same spot, only she had a cocky grin on her face. "I should have mentioned that I ate the Smooth Smooth Fruit, all manner of attacks just slide right off my perfectly smooth skin no matter how much force is behind the attack."

Even with a sword in his mouth Zoro managed to frown.

"Well that's just _perfect_."

* * *

Luffy found himself sitting at a small oaken table inside of Kaya's study, Merry was serving tea to the two as the two of them made themselves comfortable.

"Thank you for meeting me like this Luffy." Kaya said gratefully as she took a sip of her tea. "I wanted to speak with you about something of great importance."

Luffy took a sip of his own tea and winced slightly, he grabbed a dozen sugar cubes from the sugar bowl and dropped them unceremoniously into his tea. "No problem Kaya, I always have time for a friend." He responded, unsure of what to make of Kaya's surprisingly serious tone.

Kaya took a deep breath and prepared to say the words she had been rehearsing it in her head the last three days. "Luffy, let me join your pirate crew." She asked with total conviction.

"No."

The answer so quick, and put forth in such a casual tone that it was shocking. Luckily Kaya had expected this response and had several ways of retorting against it, she just needed to know what angle to push.

"Why won't you let me join up?" She asked, trying to hide the sadness in her voice.

Luffy scratched the back of his head as he searched for the right words. "Kaya, you just recovered from being poisoned over the course of a year, your body is weak, and you're a lady of leisure. I'm planning on becoming the next Pirate King. My voyage isn't exactly going to be a pleasure cruise."

Kaya wasn't deterred. "I have many skills that I can bring to the table. I have a good deal of education, medical knowledge, and I'm willing to do whatever is necessary to be a productive member of the crew."

Luffy regarded her and thought those skills useful, but still looked unconvinced. "I know I might not act serious all the time but I take my job as captain of this crew seriously. As captain it's my duty to protect everyone. I can tell you're a strong person Kaya, but being a pirate isn't all meat and parties…as much as I'd like it to be. There will be battles ahead, even ones more difficult than the one against Kuro." He pointed out, hoping to dissuade the girl. "Not to mention you would have to leave this mansion and everything you have here behind."

"Nothing would make me happier." She responded, surprising Luffy greatly. "For the last year this mansion has been my prison, all this luxury and magnificence only brings me painful memories." She got up from her seat and walked over to the window of the study. "All I want is to be free from this place, every second I spend here is agony. All I see is a mansion that Kuro desired so greatly that he murdered my parents for it."

"You could sell everything and start over." Luffy offered, trying to help her see alternatives. "Make a new life for yourself on a new island."

Kaya shook her head. "I can't describe to you what my life has been like over the past year. My health slowly deteriorating over the course of a year. During the last month I had to come to terms with the fact that I would die." She wiped away a stray tear that had trickled down her left cheek. "The only thing that helped me was Usopp and his stories. I knew they were all lies but he would tell me stories about faraway lands and amazing feats he performed. It made me realize that I have never once left this island and that I would die without ever seeing the world."

Luffy was silent as he listened to Kaya. At first her voice was soft and sad but as she turned to meet his gaze he saw strength in her eyes.

"Now that Kuro is gone and my health is returning I refuse to stay here a minute longer. I will leave this island and see the world and all it has to offer with my own eyes." She stated with complete conviction. "The only reason I'm alive today is because of you and your crew. I not only want to be free and see the world, but I want to be with my friends as I do so."

Luffy couldn't argue with that, and he could sense she was stalwart in her desire to be free. "Well I can't argue with that kind of resolve. If you want to join my crew then you're free to do so, just know that the journey for One Piece will be a hard one."

A smile adorned kaya's face upon hearing his acceptance. "I'm prepared for whatever the world throws at me." She stated confidently before turning to Merry who had been watching the exchange silently. "Merry, you and your family have served my family for generations. I leave this mansion and everything in it to you."

That bit of news shocked Merry greatly and he couldn't help but bow down before his employer. "I will take care of this mansion and everything in it but I won't take it from you Mistress." Merry stated firmly. "I will live in it and watch over it until you or your future children return to reclaim it."

"You're too kind for your own good Merry." Kaya huffed at her servant's inability to accept a gift. "If I'm going to be a pirate then having children will not be an option."

Merry smiled upon hearing that. "Never say never. Miracles do happen after all, especially with you and Usopp on the same ship. If you end up having a child they will always be welcome here." Kaya's face turned red like a tomatoes at Merry's words while Luffy simply watched the exchange with obvious confusion, not understanding Merry's meaning.

"Speaking of ships when will the one you have be ready?" Luffy asked, quickly changing the topic to something he understood. "I don't want to rush you or anything but I'm anxious to set out to sea again."

"A few more days." Merry responded. "Fully rigging and stocking a ship takes time and I've had to hire some help from the village to make sure it's completed as quickly as possible. Kaya also requested that it be fully furnished with the best furniture money can buy."

Luffy nodded thoughtfully. "Well, just a few more days until we can set sail." Luffy looked at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room and saw it was almost time for dinner. "Well they'll be enough time to talk about this over a good meal."

"LUFFY!" Nami's voice called out from one of the lower floors. "Zoro has a surprise for you that I don't think you'll be happy about!"

* * *

Luffy walked into the mansions dining room, easily one of the largest rooms in the entire house. It had a large table that could easily sit thirty people, a beautiful chandelier, and expensive looking silverware. Currently several servants were laying out a fine dinner for the evening.

Usually Luffy's attention would be solely on the food, instead he was drawn away from the food he desired by Nami who was standing next to the table and having a heated argument with Zoro and a lady he didn't recognize.

"You can't just recruit people off the streets Zoro." Nami growled, not pleased with the latest development. She directed her glare to the new addition to the group, a dark haired woman who was looking at Nami with suspicion. "We have no idea who she is or if she's even trustworthy."

"What's wrong? Afraid a woman like me will hog all the attention?" Alvida asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "I guess it is a justifiable fear, a woman as beautiful as me will outshine you at every turn."

Nami's head didn't literally explode but it probably would have if it wasn't for Luffy walking into the middle of the conversation.

"What's going on here?" He asked, as he tried to get a hold on the situation. He didn't have time to say another word as he was immediately wrapped in a large hug and his face was crushed into the strange woman's chest.

"It's really you!" Alvida cried with absolute joy as she held the man she had been looking for over the past several weeks. "I've waited so long to see you again, the only man to ever conquer me!" She held him even tighter, completely ignorant of the fact that his face was becoming blue due to the lack of oxygen.

Luffy struggled against the strange woman but his hands simply slipped off of her every time he tried to get loose from her grasp. Her skin was so soft and smooth he couldn't get a grip no matter how hard he tried.

He was eventually saved by Nami who wrested her captain from the strangers grasp. "Watch what you're doing you dumb cow, you almost suffocated my captain!" She yelled as she looked over Luffy and saw his face was blue as he breathed heavily.

Luffy regained his breath and regarded the new arrival with a cocked head. "Conquer you? What the hell are you talking about? I've never seen you before in my life lady."

Alvida simply smiled. "It's me Alvida. Don't you remember? You defeated me and my pirate crew a few weeks ago." She pointed out, hoping to stir Luffy's memory.

Luffy remembered Alvida but he couldn't believe the person standing before him was the same woman. Even Nami who also remembered the fat pirate couldn't believe that the female in front of her was the obese pirate.

"You look…different." Luffy said as he gazed at the thin woman in front of him.

Alvida didn't know why he didn't recognize her, until she remembered something important. "Oh that's right! I ate the Smooth Smooth Fruit in order to escape prison. It didn't change much about me but it did cause my freckles to slip right off my face. That's probably why you don't recognize me." She stated as she gestured to her flawless face.

Nami and Luffy could only gawk at the woman in front of them, she looked absolutely nothing like the Alvida they remembered. Nami was the first to regain her senses and glared at the dark haired beauty.

"If you really are Alvida then why are you here?" She asked suspiciously. "Luffy beat you up and sent you to prison! Why would you ever want to join our crew? I bet this is some ploy to betray us."

Alvida didn't get angry, instead she focused her attention on Luffy and blushed when she saw he was looking at her. "I was angry about being sent to prison, but I couldn't bring myself to hate Luffy. He is the first man to ever beat me." She held a hand up to her chest, remembered how he only needed to touch her chest to send her flying into a building. "He had such strength, the way he handled me so roughly left me…breathless."

Zoro, who had been quiet through this entire exchange couldn't believe what he was hearing. "That's the reason you wanted to join?" He asked, not trusting his ears. 'I thought you wanted to join up with us because of our strength?"

Alvida laughed at the swordsman's statement. "It's true that I wouldn't want to join a weak crew. But my reason for being here is Luffy. Men all over the world bow down before my beauty, but they don't interest me the way he does."

Luffy simply scratched the back of his head in confusion. None of what Alvida was saying made much sense to him. "So…you want to join my crew because I'm strong?" he asked, trying to make sense of what the female pirate was saying.

"That's one reason." She agreed. "Zoro promised I could join your crew if I beat him in a first blood fight, which I promptly won."

"Zoro lost?!" Everyone yelled out in surprise, unable to believe the crews second strongest member was defeated.

"It was her Devil Fruit!" Zoro protested, intent on protecting his honor. "All my blades slipped off of her, even when I tried attacking her in different methods they all slipped off. Eventually she managed to scratch me on my hand." He held up his hand which had a tiny scratch that looked more like a papercut than anything else. "It's small but the challenge was first blood, so she did win…I also might have been a little drunk at the time."

Alvida chuckled. "I'll admit he was too fast for me, it took fifteen minutes for me to lay that scratch on him." She admitted. "I won the challenge so that means I'm a crew member right?"

Nami was about to protest but before she could Luffy interjected.

"If Zoro gave you his word then I guess it can't be helped. But first I'd like you to join me outside for a moment. There's something I need to ask you before you can officially join up." Luffy stated as he led Alvida outside who followed him with a skip in her step.

Luffy led her to a balcony overlooking the village, it was well out of earshot of his crew and they had privacy. Luffy leaned his back against the railing and observed his new crew member.

"I wanted to have a word with you." Luffy began, his tone was neutral and his eyes bore into Alvida as if trying to figure something out. "I remember the way you treated your crew members back when you were a captain. I just want to make it clear that this crew runs differently. You are no longer a captain and in this crew we all treat each other with respect. Understand?"

The line of questioning was not what Alvida was expecting, but she supposed it was understandable given their unique past encounter. "I'm aware of that, I don't mind following someone as long as it's a man like you."

"Good." Luffy said, a little relieved that she was being so agreeable. "Also what is it you expect to get from joining me?"

"What?"

"What's your dream?" Luffy asked, trying to clarify what he meant. "I'm not going to become a pirate to rob and murder people. I want to find One Piece and become the Pirate King, so if journeying through the Grand Line is too much for you then you might not want to join up."

Alvida fell silent for about thirty seconds, her brain was working overtime. Her life as a pirate had been mostly about getting treasure. But hearing Luffy talk about going into the new world brought up past memories, of a little girl with a big dream that seemed impossible.

"Have you ever heard of Big Mom?" Alvida asked, breaking the silence and surprising Luffy. The teen considered her words for a bit and nodded.

"Yeah, she's one of the Four Emperors like Shanks. Supposedly she's the most powerful female pirate in the world." He said, recalling reading about her in a newspaper.

"I always looked up to her when I was younger." Alvida said, as she remembered her childhood, both the good and the bad. "A woman being one of the most powerful figures in the known world was un heard of to me at the time. It inspired me to become a pirate. I've always wanted to go into the New World and take over a wonderful island for myself and become a pirate that rivals Big Mom, I dream of surpassing her. Becoming a 'Pirate Queen' if you will. "

She looked over to Luffy and saw he was smiling. Alvida realized how much she had revealed and blushed. "I mean that was my dream when I was a child. Realistically the chances of someone like me surpassing a person like Big Mom and becoming a leader like her is-" She was cut off when Luffy put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"That's a good dream Alvida, and if you want to surpass an empress of the seas then this crew is the one you want to join." He said, happy that Alvida wasn't just a typical pirate. "Everyone on this crew has big dreams, even if some of them are kind of weird. You have to have something to hold on to, something to chase after if you're going to make it through the Grand Line."

Alvida allowed a small grin to adorn her face as she placed a hand on the side of his face, running a finger over his scar. "Of course that's not my _only_ dream." She said in a seductive tone.

"Really?" Luff asked innocently, ignoring the smooth fingers running over his scar. "What's your other dream?"

Before Alvida could continue Nami walked out onto the balcony, interrupting Alvida and drawing Luffy's attention away from her.

"Dinners ready Luffy, you better hurry up before all the meat is eaten." Nami stated, sending a quick sideways glance towards Alvida. Luffy didn't hesitate and quickly ran at top speed from the balcony towards the dining room, leaving Alvida and Nami alone on the balcony.

"What the hell was that?" Alvida growled, pointing an accusatory finger at the orange haired navigator. "It couldn't have been a coincidence that you just showed up at that moment."

Nami returned the glare Alvida was sending her way with full force. "I'm simply protecting my captain from you. Luffy is far too kind and trusting for his own good, I'm just making sure a harpy like you can't sink your talons into him."

Alvida allowed a small smirk to adorn her beautiful face, she quickly went from being angry to being amused. "Oh? It appears I have some completion for Luffy's attention. Plan on keeping him all for yourself are you?"

Nami's face turned red with both embarrassment and anger. "Excuse me!? I absolutely do not think of Luffy that way! He is my friend and I'm just trying to make sure he doesn't make the mistake of allowing a conniving snake like you get close to him!" She yelled, although there was a tiny hint of hesitation in her tone that Alvida managed to pick up on.

Alvida ignored Nami's protests and began to walk towards the dining room. "Whatever you say little girl. But know that Luffy will pick me in the end since I'm a real woman. I would make a joke about your lacking figure but there's nothing funny about those mosquito bites you call breasts." She said as she walked past an infuriated Nami.

Nami was tempted to punch her new crew member but resisted the urge. She remembered the type of person Alvida was and while Luffy was too trusting for his own good she knew it was only a matter of time until the dark beauty showed her true colors.

"My tits are not mosquito bites…" She muttered as she followed after Alvida and headed toward the dining room.

* * *

Dinner was an interesting affair. The entire crew had arrived in time for dinner, even Buggy Mohji and Cabaji had returned after their earlier 'adventures'. The crew ate dinner in their usual fashion of messiness and jovial talking but there was a tension in the air that could be cut with a knife.

Alvida and Nami took every opportunity to exchange barbs with each other, always disguising their insults subtly to avoid being obvious. Nami would insult the older woman for her eating habits which hadn't changed despite her slimmer look. Alvida still ate like a woman starved and was easily keeping pace with Luffy. Alvida would return Nami's barbs with insults of her own, most of them pointed at the younger girls figure or immaturity.

Jango also joined the crew for dinner, Merry helped the wounded man down from his bed and he took a seat at the table. While most of the crew were against a man like him joining up they accepted their captains decision, especially when it was pointed out that Buggy, Cabaji and Mohji had been recruited under similar circumstances.

Everyone was happy about Kaya tagging along although there were concerns about her health and fighting ability. In the end everyone agreed that her medical knowledge would be useful for a crew that didn't have a licensed doctor. Alvida was welcomed openly by most male members of the crew with the exception of Zoro who still held a grudge against the woman for her trickery.

"I leave you alone for one day and we have three new crew members." Nami grumbled as she drank a glass of fruit juice. "Maybe tomorrow you can invite the entire village to join the crew."

Luffy paused from his meal and contemplated that idea. "We wouldn't be able to fit them all on a ship." He said, contemplating her idea and completely missing the sarcasm in her tone.

"It's important to have a large crew." Buggy interjected. "In a sea battle you need people fighting the enemy, manning cannons, steering the ship, and managing the sails. A small crew can't manage all of that easily, so a few extra skilled hands is a welcome thing. Especially in the Grand Line."

"Buggy's right." Zoro said, voicing his approval. "With a small crew the injury or disabling of a single person could cripple a voyage. A larger crew will give us more versatility. A larger crew might also mean I could get some drinking buddies that won't ditch me to go chase skirts." He growled, directing a glare towards Buggy, Cabaji and Mohji.

"Twins Zoro, identical twins!" Cabaji argued, trying to justify his decision. "I couldn't pass an opportunity like that up. A three-way with twins was one of the items on my bucket list that I can now scratch off. Although they technically weren't completely identical. They had differing moles located on the backs of their-" Cabaji was cut off by Nami striking the back of his head.

"No one wants to hear about your perverted hijinks Cabaji!" Nami glowered, not wanting to hear about her crewmates sexual encounters.

"The girl is right Cabaji." Buggy chimed in, lightly scolding the acrobat. "You need to have more class. A true gentleman doesn't kiss and tell."

"If you're a gentleman then I'm a Celestial Dragon." Zoro retorted as he ate his dinner. "All I know is I had to spend my afternoon drinking with a lion. Although I do have to admit Richie can hold his liquor pretty well."

Upon hearing that Mohji decided to cut in. "You aren't supposed to give Lions booze Zoro, animals don't have bodies adapted for drinking alcohol." He said as he offered a large piece of meat to Richie who accepted the food happily.

"I'm not his keeper. Besides you're the one who left him to chase after a bunch of girls." Zoro pointed out. "If I left him to his own devices there's no telling how much trouble a lion could get into."

Dinner continued on like that for some time, idle small talk as everyone got to know their new crew members better. Conversation was light and pleasant and it didn't take long for Jango, Kaya, and Alvida to become better acquainted with their new crew.

Once dinner began to wind down Luffy cleared his throat to gain everyone attention.

"In a few days we will be setting sail to find a chef. Once we have a chef this crew will be prepared to enter the Grand Line." Luffy stated proudly. "We can finally raise our own Jolly Rodger and become official pirates."

"That's all well and good but where are we going to get a skilled chef that is also willing to become a pirate?" Zoro questioned. "It's not like there's a place where sea chefs congregate."

"Actually there is." Kaya said, drawing everyone's attention. "I've heard of this place called Baratie, it's a giant restaurant ship that sails across the seas. It is said that numerous cooks who were too rough or troublesome for other restaurants work there. It's very fashionable for rich people to go there since it's such an interesting place."

That bit of information interested everyone who thought it was a very good plan.

Nami thought it was brilliant. "That's a great idea Kaya, but how can we find it if it's a ship that's always moving?"

"The Baratie puts out coordinates in the newspapers whenever they move locations." Kaya explained. "I read the paper this morning and I'm happy to say that they are nearby."

With their next destination decided the crew chose to enjoy the rest of the evening feasting, drinking and enjoying each other's company.

* * *

Two days later saw numerous events happen to Luffy and his crew. The marines had come and gone and with their leaving the crew had received a bounty payment for Kuro's death. Luffy fully recovered from his battle, and the ship was finally ready.

Which is why the crew found themselves standing in the harbor and gazing upon the ship that was to be their pirate ship.

"It's a Schooner class ship of my own design and creation." Merry said as he gestured to his creation. "I call her the Going Merry."

The Going Merry wasn't the largest ship Luffy had ever seen but the sight of it took his breath away. It was a large vessel that exceeded any expectation he had when arriving at Syrup Village. The Ship was obviously made with love and passion as evidenced by the craftsmanship that went into her. The wood was a dark brown, it had numerous cannons, and its figure head was a Rams head with large horns. Luffy was so focused on the ship he barely heard Merry's detailed explanations about the ship.

"She has three main masts, weighs in at around 200 tons, and has eight broadside cannons with four on each side, as well as two frontal chase cannons and two rear cannons. There are also numerous swivel guns located on the deck. It also had a steel naval ram in front for attacking a vessel head on in a dogfight." Merry explained as he gestured towards the ship. "She has two large sleeping quarters that can comfortably house a crew of twenty or much more if you don't mind a lack of privacy. It has also been wonderfully furnished and has all the amenities one would need to comfortably cross the sea."

Everyone was soaking the information in and looking at the ship that was to be theirs. Merry saw their amazement and was proud of the effect his creation had on them. "Well you've probably had enough of me talking about the ship, go on and look at it yourself. I'll give you all a hands on experience with it." No sooner had the words left his mouth, the entire crew was scrambling on board their vessel.

The crew divided up and began to inspect parts of the ship that interested each of them most while Merry went on with his explanations.

"A ship like this can outrun almost any other type of ship in the ocean so long as she had a bit of wind. The only way a large ship could keep up with her is if it had oars or steam paddles, even then with the wind she can sail circles around most enemies." Merry said as he gestured to the three main sails. "Despite her size this type of ship can navigate shoals and shallow water as well as deep rivers. But this schooner is larger than most so I would be cautious when entering shallow water."

"These are some great cannons." Buggy stated as he analyzed all the guns on the main gun deck. "Twelve pounders if I'm not mistaken and the frontal and rear guns are long nines. With my special cannonballs there won't be a vessel in this entire world we can't sink."

Usopp found his favorite spot in the crows next which was spacious enough for him to rest in. "With this vantage point no vessel will sneak up on us." He said as he looked out over the open sea and imagined the adventures he would soon be going on.

Zoro, Jango, and Cabaji were all exploring the men's quarters. The room was large and had numerous Bunk beds which were compact enough to fit many of them in the vessel but large enough for a large man to sleep comfortably. There were also a few large hammocks set up for anyone to rest in. Aside from that the quarters were plain with two couches and a wall full of lockers for people to store their clothes and possessions in.

Alvida was busy looking about the woman's quarters. The room had numerous large beds and hammocks meant for comfort more than practicality. It also had sofas and a table meant for lounging. The room was clearly meant for comfort more than anything else which suited Alvida just fine since she was used to living in opulence due to her former career as captain of a ship.

Mohji and Richie were busy checking out the kitchen which was located in one of the biggest room in the ship, the dining hall. The Kitchen was large and had all the comforts of a modern kitchen with numerous cooking stations and utensils. The rest of the room was a dining room with two large tables meant to sit a full crew.

Nami, Kaya, and Luffy were at the ships Helm while Merry explained the merits of the ship to the group.

"She is easy to sail but difficult to master. I hope your navigator is up to the task." Merry said as he gestured towards the mainsail.

"I am." Nami promised as she took stock of what she was working with. "No matter what comes Ill steer her through thick and thin."

Luffy was playing around with the ships main wheel when a thought suddenly came into his head. "What the heck are you guys doing with a ship like this?" Luffy asked as he looked around him at the large vessel. "You mentioned this was meant to be a small ship for Kaya to sail around in when she decided to see the world, but it looks more like a battleship."

Merry nodded. "Very Astute Mr. Luffy. A long time ago I expressed my desire to make a ship for Mistress Kaya when she came of age to travel the seas. Ever since I was a child I had a set of blueprints for a small Caravel class ship that I desired to make. But when Kayas father and I set out to buy the materials required for the ship we ended up getting caught between a naval battle between a pirate ship and ship full of privateers. In the chaos we made our escape, never did find out who won that battle."

"How did that make you change your mind about the ship you were making?" Luffy asked, unsure of how the story would change the make of a ship.

"Well it scared the living daylights out of me and the master." Merry explained, a bit of fear entering his voice as he recalled those memories. "We realized how dangerous the seas were and we realized that the blueprints I had made wouldn't cut it. So I went back to the drawing board and made new blueprints for a ship that could outrun any foe yet still stand its ground against a powerful pirate ship. Thus this schooner was born. Kayas father would only accept the best of ships to ferry his daughter around this sea."

That made sense to Luffy so he decided to drop the subject. He looked around and saw his crew was taking wandering about, enjoying the ship was much as he was.

"Since you're the captain would you like to be shown to your quarters?" Merry asked, breaking Luffy from his musings.

"My quarters?" Luffy asked, not sure what the sheep headed man was talking about.

Merry led Luffy, Nami and kaya to the stern of the ship and opened up a door that led to the captain's quarters. It was a large room, in one corner was a table meant for dining, the walls were lined with empty bookcases, there was a large desk and chair in the center of the room for reading maps and conferring with other crew members. At the back of the room was a large dresser and a large king sized bed with silk sheets.

"This room was meant for Mistress Kaya or whoever is in charge of the ship." Merry explained. "Mistress Kaya has said that she is fine sleeping in the woman's quarters and that as captain this room should be yours."

"My own room…" Luffy muttered as he looked around at the opulence.

Nami watched her captain move around the room like he was a child, eyes full of wonder and a bit of anxiety. Merry carried on extolling the virtues of the room, unaware of Luffy's apparent confusion and anxiety.

"There's also a tiny bathroom in here as well. It only has a small shower, sink and toilet." Merry explained as he opened the bathroom door. "But given the fact the rest of the ship only has two other bathrooms it will be nice having one of your own. I'll leave you to acclimate to your new quarters, I'll be off to help your crew with anything they need before you decide to set off."

Merry left the room and Kaya followed after him, leaving Luffy and Nami alone.

Nami saw Luffy was still looking around the room with uncertainty and decided to call the teen out on it. "What's wrong Luffy? You're acting like this room is haunted or something." She pointed out, earning a small glare from her captain.

"I'm not scared." retorted Luffy as he sat down at his desk. "It's just strange. I've never had my own room before, it's a…surreal feeling."

That bit of information surprised Nami. "You've never had a room before?" She asked disbelievingly.

"I grew up in a small village and shared a room with a woman by the name of Makino who let me live with her when she saw that my grandfather made me sleep in the woods." Luffy explained. "After that I lived with mountain bandits who all shared the same living space, then I lived with my brothers and we shared a small tree house together. I've never had my own room before."

That surprised Nami, as poor as she was growing up she had always had her own room. It was a small thing little better than a walk in closet but it had been hers. "Well then I guess your overdue for one, you might enjoy having some privacy for a change." She offered kindly.

"I guess you're right." Luffy said as he looked at the bookshelves. "At least I have a place to put all my books." He summoned forth his darkness and summoned several large chests from it. He began opening each one of the chests up, revealing that each was stuffed to the brim with books.

Nami fell upon the books like a cat on a mouse and began looking through them. Nami found numerous adventure books, books about strange places in the world, how to maintain weapons, and every topic under the sun and moon. The main thing that caught her eyes were books on navigation, specifically on how to navigate the Grand Line. She even found that several of the books had charts and maps drawn into them.

"Luffy…where did you get these?" She asked as she looked through a particularly interesting book which described navigating the Grand Line with something called a Log Pose.

"Shanks gave them to me." Luffy responded a he began to sort his books and put them on his shelves. "Most of them are gibberish to me but I keep trying to read them anyway. You can borrow them if you like but I want them back, even if I can't understand them entirely I do treasure them."

Nami nodded and took the navigational books into her arms. It would take time but she could easily make copies by hand, taking out the useless information and making the good stuff more concise and clear. Throughout her short life she had written several books on navigation. A fact she was proud of despite the fact that Arlong and his crew were the only ones using them.

"I should mention that I've decided to stay." Nami said as she looked through the books. "I want you with me when I go to pay my debt."

That bit of news surprised Luffy and he let it show on his face. "Why? We have a ship so you can take the gunboat to pay it off while we recruit a cook. Unless you wanted me around because you're afraid that your debtor will double cross you."

"He has always claimed to honor deals with money and I've seen that he does keep his promises." Nami responded. "But with so much riding on this I would like a little…insurance in case things go wrong."

Luffy chuckled a bit. "So you want me to kick his ass if he double-crosses you?" He asked, amusement evident in his tone. "Why don't you let me kick his ass in the first place? Then you could keep all that money you've been gathering for yourself."

Nami shook her head. "You would understand my hesitation to have you fight him if you ever saw him fight. I've seen him sink marine battleships with only his bare hands all the while laughing." She remembered the marines sending numerous ships over the years to investigate and bring Arlong in. They all died. Even privateers and pirate hunters learned to keep their distance from Arlong after only a few encounters with him. "Just let me do the deal and everyone walks away happy without any blood being shed."

"Fine, I just wish you would have more faith in me." Luffy said as he finished organizing and placing all his books on his new shelves and decided it was time to stop playing around on their new ship. He had been meaning to call a crew meeting for a long time but no moment seemed right. Now that they had a fine ship with a large dining room it felt like the proper time to have one.

"Nami, gather the others and have them meet up in the dining room. We need to have out first official crew meeting."

* * *

Everyone was gather into the dining room and sat around one of the main tables in the room. Luffy sat at the end of the table and looked over his crew and couldn't help but feel happy at the men and women he recruited thus far.

"Alright, this is our first official meeting as a crew." Luffy began grandly, drawing everyone attention to him. "We have numerous things we need to discuss in this meeting but first things first. Everyone find the ship to their liking?"

At this everyone gave an overwhelming positive response. Merry who was sitting down in the corner couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed as everyone praised him and his craftsmanship.

"Second order of business is our next move. I believe heading over to the Baratie should be our next destination." Luffy stated, drawing many affirmative nods from his crew. "Once we have a skilled cook we can eat delicious food every day."

"Not to mention a cook can make us healthy food so that we don't suffer malnutrition and scurvy." Nami added, "It would also help make rationing our food stores easier to have someone who can make food supplies last as long as possible."

Seeing that everyone was in agreement Luffy decided to raise a topic that he knew would be interesting. "Now there's one thing we need to discuss as a crew. Specifically what we are going to do with this." Luffy reached into his pocket and pulled out a black fruit with dark yellow markings on it. Everyone collectively gasped as they saw the fruit in their captain's hand. There was no mistaking a Devil Fruit, and the coloration of the fruit was a dead giveaway to which one it was.

"It's the Panther Fruit." Jango gasped as he gazed at the pitch black fruit. "That means you managed to find it after Kuro died."

Luffy nodded. "After the battle when everyone was resting and cleaning up in the aftermath I went looking for it." He explained as he set the fruit in the middle of the table. "After death of the user a Devil Fruit will reincarnate into a nearby fruit. Sometimes it's one close by, other times it's in a fruit far away. I found this one in an apple tree near Kaya's mansion."

There was a collective silence as everyone gazed at the fruit that lasted a good thirty seconds until Luffy decided to break it.

"We could sell it, a regular Devil Fruit is worth a hundred million beli. A powerful one that's been identified can sell for much more than that." He explained, causing both Nami and Buggy's eyes to turn into beli symbols. "Of course one of us could eat it, assuming you aren't already a Devil Fruit user. It's a powerful fruit and it could become a powerful asset to the crew. Any takers?"

"It is powerful…" Nami began as she took a closer look at the fruit. "Not to mention the fact it would make a person extremely stealthy and fast if they became a panther…" She began to think about all the possibilities if she ate it. She could pull off heists easily with the added speed and mobility. Before she could state her opinion a voice rang out in her head. _'You aren't filthy rats like the rest of those humans Nami. You're more like a clever cat.'_ Arlong's voice ran through her head and she immediately put the idea of eating the Panther Fruit aside.

"I've always wanted to eat a Zoan fruit." Mohji spoke up as he gazed at the prize. "But I don't care much for panthers, and I'm not sure Richie would react to me all that well if I was a cat like him." He pondered out loud.

"I would eat it to become an asset to the crew but I don't want _his_ fruit." Kaya stated, looking at the fruit like it would get up and attack her.

"I would eat it but…" Jango trailed off. "I agree with Kaya on not wanting to eat Kuro's fruit. Besides I'm more of a ranged fighter and I also enjoy swimming"

"Same here." Usopp added.

"I don't take short cuts to power." Zoro added.

"I want to get strong on my own." Cabaji agreed, echoing Zoro's statement.

Seeing that there were no takers Luffy decided to wrap up the meeting. "I can't think of anything else to discuss, the fruit will be locked away for the time being until we can sell it or if anyone changes their minds about eating it. We will depart as soon as everyone's cargo is loaded. We will head out to the Baratie in the Going Merry and take care of business there. Gather your luggage and make sure we're stocked up on meat. We are heading out to sea!"

The crew got up and began moving about the ship. While the ship was ready to leave it would take time for everyone to move in their possessions into the ship.

* * *

Luffy stood on the side of the Merry and watched as Usopp carried an enormous backpack stuffed with pretty much everything in his house. He had just finished disbanding the Usopp Pirate Crew and had clearly been crying if his red tear stained eyes were to be believed.

Everyone else was making ready to depart. Buggy, Zoro, and Jango were unfurling the sails in order to catch the afternoon wind. Each of the climbed about the masts and ropes with great skill. Although Zoro and Jango were doing most of the climbing since Buggy simply let his limbs fly around thanks to his Devil Fruit ability while he relaxed on the ships deck.

Nami was at the ships steering wheel and checking her compass and maps to make sure she knew what course they were going to take. She smiled as the winds shifted into a favorable direction and she turned the wheel and the ship began to depart the harbor.

Usopp and Kaya were leaning over the side of the ship and waving goodbye to the various villagers who were saying goodbye to their Heroes. Merry was at the center wiping away tears as he watched Kaya sail off in a ship of his creation.

Luffy watched as Alvida slapped Cabaji over something the acrobat had said, only for her slap to slide off the man's face due to her smooth skin.

"So she is immune to attacks but can't deal any damage physically, that's why she needs the mace." Luffy mused as he took off his hat and let the breeze run through his hair.

Kaya had hired a tailor to make him a new set of clothes, his old clothes had been ruined in his battle with Kuro. Luffy now wore a dark crimson shirt, black pants with a nice leather belt where two holsters were located for his two flintlock pistols, a pair of black naval boots, and over his shirt he wore a black cape that could cover his body when closed. It was an exact copy of the one he remembered Shanks wearing. He liked how it matched his black hat, as well as the fact it gave his limbs much more mobility then his old coat did.

Luffy looked out over the horizon and watched as Syrup Village disappeared and soon they were all on the open seas. The Going Merry proved to be extremely easy to sail, once all the sails were unfurled and the rigging was done the ship only needed on person at the helm steering to run smoothly.

He watched as his crew broke off and began to kill time. He watched with great interest because he wanted to see how everyone would get along once there was nothing to really do. Luffy volunteered to steer the ship and watched as his crew interacted with each other.

Kaya and Usopp were fishing off the side of the ship, he watched as Kaya leaned over and whispered something into Usopp's ear which made the teen blush and nearly drop his fishing pole.

Jango and Cabaji were both practicing with their throwing weapons and seeing who was more accurate. A dartboard was set up against the main mast and it was riddled with chakram and daggers from their game.

Buggy was below deck fiddling with the cannons and making some of his special cannonballs, something he claimed required absolute privacy and quiet.

Zoro was sparring with Mohji, the Beast Tamer wasn't very good at close quarter's combat which was something Zoro was trying to fix. Mohji was using a hand axe that he wielded with one hand, a weapon he claimed that his people were famous for using. Mohji was obviously no match for Zoro, the man's strikes were a bit sluggish and slow but he was competent. Zoro for his part was simply happy to spar with someone, and was enjoying fighting against someone wielding an axe since it wasn't often he fought someone using such a weapon.

Alvida was sunbathing by the side of the ship, she was wearing a skimpy bikini and beckoning for Luffy to join her. Luffy politely refused since the idea of sitting around on the ships deck was boring.

Nami was next to Luffy with a compass in hand, telling him when to steer the ship back on course when the waves made the Merry go off course. In truth she didn't need to be there, Luffy was steering the ship fine and was capable of keeping the ship on course himself. Her real intention was to stand between Luffy and the sunbathing Alvida. Alvida caught onto Nami's plan and glared at the orange haired girl who simply glared back. All the while Luffy was so focused on steering the ship he didn't notice the tension in the air.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful. Usopp and Kaya managed to catch enough fish to make the crew a large dinner. While no one on the crew was skilled at cooking both Nami and Kaya had enough experience between themselves to follow several recipes in the kitchens collection of cookbooks to make a satisfying dinner.

* * *

After an eventful day the entire crew headed to their sleeping quarters with the exception of Usopp who took the first shift of the night watch. Luffy walked over to the captain's cabin and entered his sleeping quarters.

He turned on the gasp lamp on his desk, put his coat and hat onto a nearby rack and pulled a book from his bookshelf. He sat down at his desk and began to read. It was his favorite book that he had read over a hundred times, he turned to the titles which was worn due to its use, but one could still make out the title.

 _The Adventures of the Sparrow Pirates_

 _Volume 1_

 _The Curse of the Dead Man's Chest_

It was one of the books Shanks had given him and had spurned his interest in reading. He could read the book a hundred times and never get bored of it.

He didn't make it past the first paragraph before he tossed the book aside. "I can't even read right now." Luffy muttered angrily, he knew the reason. Over the last few days his sleep had become more and more troubled. Almost every night after closing his eyes a dark voice would speak to him. Sometimes it was only a word or two while other times the voice would speak at length about something strange. Each sentence was a riddle that he couldn't figure out.

At first he thought it was bad memories, or simply nightmares. Ever since the destruction of the Goa Kingdom there was no shortage of bad memories to fill his dreams. But it was happening far too frequently. Luffy was beginning to think he was losing his mind.

He had his suspicions on what was causing his problems. Those suspicions led him to walk over to his bookshelf and pick up a large tome, easily one of the most valuble in his collection.

It was a book Shanks had given him before the Re Haired Pirate had left Foosha Village. It was the encyclopedia of Devil Fruits written by , a book that only appeared in the criminal underworld since it was illegal to possess it unless you were a authorized government official.

He turned to the page about his Devil Fruit and begin to read.

 _Considered the strangest and most unique of the Logia's the Dark Dark Fruit is a fearsome power that is not to be underestimated._

 _Throughout my studies of the fruit I have seen that it is unique in that unlike most Logia's the eater of the fruit cannot turn into their element._

 _I believe this derives from the fact that Logia's embody something that is either matter or energy. Matter being a power like earth and energy being a power such as lightining. But Darkness is an abstract concept that doesn't fall into either of these categories, leading me to believe that the human body is incapable of becoming something that isn't matter or energy._

 _Possibility of Awakening allowing one to turn into darkness, but attempts at awakening have thus far failed in all test subjects._

 _Despite this fruits weakness it has tremendous offensive power. A user can suck enemies into the Darkness their fruit creates and crush them with Gravity. Some users can find unique ways of manipulating the fruits control over Gravity. Its obvious power is that it can suck in anything with the power of gravity, even the power of other Devil Fruit users. Making it the natural enemy to all Devil Fruits. This ability is its most dangerous since it can also absorb the power of a dead fruit user._

 _Upon death a Devil Fruit ability will linger for eight minutes before reincarnating, various theories are around for the reason for this but no concrete evidence has been found. While the subject is dead the power of the Devil Fruit is no longer anchored to that individual's life force and therefore the Dark Dark Fruit is able to absorb the power directly from the dead user. We believe this bypasses the harm a Devil Fruit user would encounter since the user is not technically eating another Devil Fruit. This allows the user of the Dark Dark Fruit to possess numerous Devil Fruit powers._

 _Sadly our research on this is quite minimal. After the success of the experiment subject 16 used his newfound power to make an escape attempt, utilizing his two Devil fruit Abilities to kill most of our staff. It took fifty men and six Devil Fruit Users to bring him down._

 _Afterwards the powers that be shut down our research and deemed the fruit too dangerous and have had it locked away. The true limits of the Dark Dark Fruit are therefore unknown and will likely be shrouded in mystery for years to come._

 _Unknown how many Devil Fruits the Dark Dark Fruit user can possess or even what types of powers can linger in the body without tearing the user apart. Every human body has limits, and thus I deem its powers to be most dangerous and pray this ability never gets out into the world at large._

Luffy was fascinated by the power of his Devil Fruit, but the idea of stealing a dead person's power was frightening and seemed almost taboo to him. Not to mention the fact that the greatest scientific mind in the world didn't fully understand what the limits of the fruit were.

Luffy couldn't help but wonder how Shanks got his hand on the Devil Fruit if it was locked away. He would have to ask him that the next time they met. He skimmed over the back of the book and read the article that he was most interested in given recent events.

 _So far there is no evidence that Devil Fruits possess any actual Devils within them. All research points to a non-sentient power and that even the name Devil Fruit stems from old Sailors superstitions revolving around the Sea Devil. So far all I can conclude is that Devil Fruits are natural phenomena that is merely beyond our current scientific understanding._

 _The arguments of my colleagues that there is a literal Devil within the fruits is nothing short of preposterous. Although I will admit some subjects have claimed to hear voices. But I believe this is nothing more then stress induced hallucinations._

Luffy believed that explanation for the longest time, chalking up devil fruits to simply be Mystery Fruits as he liked to call them. But no matter how many times he read that passage he still had doubts.

 ** _"I am the Void."_**

Those words lingered in his mind and he needed to figure out what they meant. He remembered the voice in his head saying it, first during the destruction of the Goa Kingdom and numerous times in his dreams. He walked over to his bookshelf and brought over several more books to his desk. He picked up a dictionary and began looking near the end.

 _Void, Noun_

 _Definition_

 _1\. A completely empty space._

 _Example- "The black void of space"_

"Space." Luffy muttered, reaching for another book. "Black Holes exist in space and gravity moves planets along with everything else in the universe." He muttered as he reached for a book that was near the bottom of the stack he brought over and read the title.

 _The Devouring Void of the Cosmos_

 _By the Royal Astronomer Sokolov_

 _Once the curtain has been lifted, it becomes inescapable that we inhabit a world adrift in a sea of howling chaos, a terrible maelstrom in which all heavenly bodies orbit a devouring core. Though the trip could take many thousands of lifetimes, all cosmic objects are eventually dragged into this hungry nexus and forever cease to be._

 _Though they are moved by eddies in the celestial medium, stars offer guide points in the otherwise perilous blackness. Our own sun holds its planets close in our inexorable course toward oblivion, giving us life and warmth until the end._

Luffy's head hurt trying to piece it all together and he settled for putting the books aside for the night. He knew if he stayed up any longer he would end up sleeping in and miss breakfast. He walked his small bathroom and took a quick shower before slipping into some boxers and laying down in his new bed.

Despite the myriad of thoughts swirling around in his head Luffy managed to fall asleep after a few moments of resting. For the first time in days his dreams were pleasant and blissful.

He was unaware that in a dark corner of his mind a Dark being was resting as well.

 **"** **So close to the truth Luffy…and yet so far."** It said, its voice calm and level. **"The time for us to have a proper conversation will be soon. I can only wonder if you are ready for what I have to offer…"**

* * *

 **Authors Note**

I know that this update has taken a long time. Work has been hectic and writing simply wasn't fun for me for a good 2 weeks. Also I was busy playing Overwatch and Doom…so blame the Video Game Industry.

Also for some reason the website wouldn't let me upload this as a document so I had to copy and paste. Hopefully all the writing made it through without errors.

Alright I know not much happened in this chapter, it was mostly people talking. Allow me to explain myself. I dislike it when people add new crewmembers without proper motivation or characterization. I know I'm not delving into the characters and revealing the secrets of the human condition in this story but I want to give these people some defining traits and motivations for joining the crew. I also want to make Luffy recruiting them believable.I also want to show how Luffy's former enemies are able to integrate into the crew and find their place in it. I dislike it when a story has Luffy inviting a former enemy to join and the enemy immediately says yes and they manage to become BFFs with the crew. I want to show how and why Luffy's recruits certain people and how those people fit into the crew dynamic. I know Alvida was a bit shallow but I intend to flesh out both her and her backstory in the chapters to come. Same with Jango.

Also the Going Merry is now a Schooner. Some might say a schooner is too small but keep in mind a ship type isn't based on size, rather its sail setup. There are galleons that are small and Caravels that are big. A ships class is mostly based on its sail setup. The New Going Merry is roughly twice the length of the original, with a sleeker look and more sails.

I also chose a schooner since its the main ship used historically by most pirates due to its speed allowing it to outrun authorities and catch enemy ships. A schooner is also the type of ship that was used in the Treasure island movies, the Hispaniola was a schooner.

Now on to the question and answer round

First off, the number one complaint for the last chapter was that Luffy should have roflstomped Kuro. Well first off that would have been extremely boring, second Kuro's natural speed combined with his Devil Fruit made his speed rival CP9 members. Oda has stated Kuro's stealth foot is like a rudimentary Soru, therefore with his panther ability his speed was on par with someone like Rob Lucci. Only his speed mind you, strength wise Kuro couldn't hold Luccis jockstrap. Also people said Luffy should have swallowed everything in his darkness to kill Kuro, regardless of collateral damage. Well Blackbeard might be fine with consuming a village and destroying it to show off his power but Luffy certainly isn't.

To the guest reviewer who thought I was upset about his/her question regarding Sea Stone and pocket voids. I'm not angry if reviewers point out things that might be wrong with my story or ask questions so long as it's done without flames.

Someone asked if I would touch on the movies. I might have characters or Devil fruits from the movies and games show up. Beyond that the only movies I would consider adding/referencing would be Strong World, Film Z, and maybe the new Gold movie that's coming out. I can't wait to see that movie.

On to Devil Fruit Awakening.

Luffy's Devil Fruit is not technically awakened. I know all of us have read Serpentguys amazing magnum Opus _Nine Minutes_. I have my own way for how Devil Fruits are awakened as well as a unique backstory for Devil Fruits. I won't lie, _Nine Minutes_ has inspired me greatly and is easily my favorite One Piece fanfiction. I also know that my writing is like bathroom stall level writing compared to Serpentguy. But I have my own backstory for Devil Fruits as well as numerous other things in the One Piece universe. His universes rules apply to his story, not to mine.

Thank you for all the amazing reviews.

 **Thank you TheOnlyKing, The Keeper Of Worlds, Nwandu225, Shivrah, chimera629, Treetho, iwish328, norris321,Inverse Psyche, Anom1, The Apex Predator 01, Lightingblade49, khyle123,sachin6291, ahsanrox, Terror of Death Skieth, Shadow of God, Fanfictionhunter, Tonlor, Avatao, chunnin33, cookiesncreamm, Devlin Dracul, DarkPirateKing69, MakubeDaKiddX, Amethyst, Chrisfragger, sagar Hussain, Estriella, ghostmarine51, The Super Mario, LongPastMidnight, Patriota1993, savitarsurffer,kaito AM.**

 **Thank you all and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Next chapter will be covering the Baratie and will have actual action in it.**


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